Of Monsters and Men
by Chayo the Confused
Summary: When he was younger Jaune had wanted to be a hero. Now as an adult he knew better. There were no heroes. Only monsters and stronger monsters. And Jaune intended to be the strongest of them all.
1. Chapter 1

Jaune stood up carefully as the ship landed, cautiously winding his way between all the students that were milling about and talking with their friends. Ships made him queasy and there was no way that he would be seen throwing up in front of all of these potential partners.

He had an image to maintain and vomit boy was not the image that he wanted. He had to be better. He NEEDED to be better.

He watched as two girls walked out of the ship ahead of him and silently followed them. It wasn't that he was following them persay. They just happened to be ahead of him and there was only so many exits off the ship.

Just the one, as a matter of fact.

"The view from Vale's got nothing on this!" The blonde girl commented. She had to be the elder of the two, as the smaller girl didn't look a day over fifteen or sixteen, if he had to guess. Jaune wandered what she was doing here in that case. But he amended that she could also just be short. He resolved to figure that out later.

Knowledge was power, and Jaune intended to be the strongest. The taller girl was quite fetching, from what Jaune could see, being a fair skinned woman with bright golden hair that ran all the way down to the small of her back, with a cowlick sticking up in the center of her head, reminding Jaune of the stem of an apple. He couldn't make out her facial features, since he was behind them, but he assumed that she was attractive. She sounded it anyway.

She wore a tan jacket that exposed her midriff, with golden brown piping and puffy sleeves. She wore long brown belt that was atop black mini-shorts, with a pair of brown knee high boots with bright orange socks finishing up the ensemble. But that was admittedly difficult to discern as over her shorts, she wore an asymmetrical, white, ruffled material that ran all the way down to her knees.

Building a profile for the blonde bombshell in his mind, to be added to later at his leisure, Jaune turned his attention to the shorter girl. She wore a black long sleeved dress, that had red trim on the sleeves, with a cincher of some kind on her waist. The skirt of the combat dress she was wearing had red trim and red lining. Which was worn over thick black stockings and black combat boots. Her laces were red, and red trim ran throughout the top of her boots, and the soles were red. The only thing else worth noticing was the red hooded cloak she had fastened to her shoulders. From what Jaune could see, she had short black hair in messy pixie like cut, that...gradually faded into red tips at the ends.

The shorter girl turned to the taller one, pointing at the people nearby. "Ohmygosh, sis! That kid's got a collapsible staff! And she's got a fire sword!"

The blonde pulled the girl by the hood as she started to wander off. "Easy there, little sister. They're just weapons."

"Just weapons!" The girl said, offended by the very idea that any weapon could be 'just a weapon'. "They're an extension of ourselves! They're a part of us! Oh they're so cool!

You can tell a lot about a person by the weapon they wield and how they choose to use it, Jaune would admit that the girl had a point, but she was taking it a little far.

"Well…" The blonde trailed off, "Can't you swoon over your own weapon? Aren't you happy with it?" She said, trying to placate her sister.

The girl in response, pulled out her weapon, shifting it into its scythe form. "Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose! I just really like seeing new ones. It's like meeting new people but better…"

The blonde pushed her sister's hood down over her face. "Ruby, come on, why don't you go try and make some friends of your own?"

The girl, Ruby pulled her hood off of her face and fixed her hair. "But...why would I need friends if I have you?"

"Well…" Several people caught up to them at this point, the blonde quickly linking arms with them. "Actually my friends are here. Gotta go catch up. Kay, see ya, bye!" And with her piece said, she and her friends darted off, leaving Ruby in the lurch.

They fled so fast that Ruby's head started spinning, not being helped by the fact that it seemed like everyone suddenly decided that they were late and started barreling forward, spinning her around in circles. She cried out once she got her bearings.

"Wait! Where are you going?! Are we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are they? Do we even have dorms?" But her sister was long gone. "I don't know what I'm doing…"

This would be the perfect opportunity for Jaune to step in and make a terrific first impression. The best.

But instead of doing that, he merely observed as Ruby stumbled and fell backwards into a luggage cart, sending cases flying. A Schnee was standing over her, glaring with her arms crossed. If memory served Jaune correctly, this particularly Schnee had to be Weiss.

But what was she doing here?

Weiss was a young woman with pale skin and even paler white hair that was pulled back into an off center ponytail. She was wearing a thigh length strapless dress that gradually changed from white to blue. Over the top of the dress, she wore bell sleeved bolero jacket with the same kind of gradation on it, with the Schnee logo prominently displayed on the back.

"What are you doing?!" She yelled, berating Ruby.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I just-"

"You just? Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused!" She stated loudly, trying to make it sound like a question when it really wasn't.

"Uhh…." Ruby responded, deciding to pick up one of the cases rather than continue to plead her case.

"Give me that!" She said, snatching the case from Ruby, opening it to reveal dust bottles. "This is Dust-mined and purified from the Schnee quarry!"

Ruby said nothing, not sure how to respond to this.

"What are you brain dead?" Weiss asks, before barrelling on without waiting for a response. "Dust! Fire, water, lightning, energy!" She starts to shake a bottle in front of Ruby, releasing some dust.

Okay, if there was ever a time to interfere, it was now.

"That's enough," Jaune spoke up, stepping forward and gently maneuvering Ruby away from the cloud of dust that was about to be in face. "Do you not notice the dust being released by you waving it around like that? I have to say, I'm not impressed by anything that I've seen today."

She gasped, and blinked at Jaune, before gaining a second wind and glaring at both of them now.

"How dare you! Do you know who I am? Why, I could-" Weiss started to say, still waving around her bottle of dust, releasing it every which way, causing Jaune to sigh and resort to drastic measures. For him anyway.

He grabbed the hand that was waving the dust bottle and pried it out of her shocked hands. At her openly gaping at him, he spoke to her calmly, as if he were reciting notes from a class.

"Weiss Schnee, age 17. Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world. But is also infamous for its controversial labor practices and questionable business partners. Is that everything you want us to know, or should I go on?" He asked, releasing Weiss's hand but pocketing the dust in her distraction.

"I…Well…I don't…" Weiss stuttered trying to think of what to say. She quickly tried to change targets, turning to Ruby again. "What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?"

"Well, I-I…" Ruby tried to explain.

"Don't answer that." Jaune said, narrowing his eyes at Weiss. He couldn't stand bullies, nor would he tolerate them.

"What are you even doing here?" Jaune threw back at her. "This isn't Atlas you know. Common courtesy and decency does in fact go a long way here. If you're expecting us to lay down and cater to you, then I suggest you run home to daddy princess." Jaune told her, glaring into her icy blue eyes. "We're here to fight monsters, not complain about accidents."

"Wha-How dare…" Weiss tries to say as Ruby chuckles at her dressing down. "The nerve of...Ugh!"

She tried to get up in Jaune's face, but Jaune towered over and it only made her look foolish. She walked off in a huff as her servants began to gather up her luggage and follow.

Ruby called off to the storming Weiss. "I promise I'll make everything up to you!"

"Even though you didn't do anything?" Jaune asked curiously.

"Well...yeah, she thinks I did, and I don't want to deal with any unwanted attention...I just want normal knees…" She trailed off, poking her fingers together.

Jaune wasn't sure what to say to that, so he held his hand out. "Welcome to Beacon then, I'm Jaune. Jaune Arc."

Ruby took his hand, shaking it, and then not letting go. "It's nice to meet you Jaune! I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose." She introduced herself, still not letting go of his hand.

Jaune wasn't sure of the protocol, but he was pretty sure she should have let go by now. Would it be weird if he said something? Or should he just wait for her to let go? His choice was made for him when she finally let go and smiled at him.

"Thanks for your help there Jaune. I needed some help and my sister…" She said, her smile changing into a frown.

"No big deal, I can't stand bullies, so I couldn't just watch." Jaune responded, thinking to himself. 'I will never sit back and watch again.'

Ruby smiled at him, agreeing with his statement, before pulling out her scythe and stabbing it into the ground. "So...I have this thing! Jaune, meet Crescent Rose, Crescent Rose, Jaune! She's a customizable high impact sniper rifle that shifts into a scythe!" Ruby explains, confident in her descriptions and introduction.

Jaune looked over Crescent Rose, letting out a whistle of appreciation. "She's a beaut alright, it's nice to meet you Crescent Rose."

"So...what do you have?" Ruby asked blinking at up at him.

"I have this guy," Jaune said, pulling out his weapon of choice. "It's a longsword with a scabbard that transforms into a heater shield. Or, alternatively, I can shift the scabbard into wider blade for the sword. My shield also has hard light dust in to extend the edges to make an even wider shield or to transform my sword into an axe and gravity dust for various purposes. Crocea Mors, meet my Ruby Rose." He said, handing her the sheathed blade for her inspection.

"That's so cool! It's like a super sword and axe!" Ruby squealed once she had looked over the sword and expanded the shield once.

Jaune chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Yeah, I like to call it my sword sword."

Ruby giggled at that. "I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons, so...I guess I went a little overboard when I designed it."

"Nothing wrong with that," Jaune replied, putting his blade back up. "You like what you like, and because you like it so much, you'll keep up with it and it won't let you down at crucial moments."

"I never thought of it that way…" Ruby said, before turning to Jaune again. "Did you make yours?"

"No, it's a family blade, although I have modified it a fair amount since it's come into my possession. My great great grandfather used it to fight in the war."

"Hmm…" Ruby responds, before looking around. "Hey, do you know where we're going?"

"Yeah, we're almost to the auditorium. You can see the entrance there." Jaune points forward, and sure enough Ruby could see the auditorium.

Ruby laughed. "I had no idea!"

She quickly stopped laughing when she heard her sister calling her.

"Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!" She yelled, waving her over. Ruby nodded, turning to Jaune. "Hey, I-I gotta go! I'll see you after the ceremony!"

Jaune nodded to her as they walked past Pyrrha Nikos hovering at the door, noticing her watching him but choosing to ignore it. She was probably doing the same thing that he was earlier, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to meet the invincible girl at this point.

His attention was drawn to the center of the stage, where the Headmaster was standing front and center, readying the microphone with Professor Goodwitch standing beside him.

"I will keep this brief," He started the orientation. "You have travelled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

Jaune frowned at the speech, as he slowly digested what was said to him. He disagreed with the sentiment that he needed to take the first step. Or that he was dedicating his life to protecting the people. He wasn't altruistic like that. Not anymore. The first step had been made for him years ago. He was here for power, and for directions. Anything extra was simply welcome, but unnecessary.

The headmaster left, and then Goodwitch stepped up to talk. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation will begin. Be ready. You are dismissed."

* * *

The first thing that Jaune heard when he stepped into the locker room was Ruby.

"No more awkward small talk or 'getting-to know-you' stuff. Today I get to let my sweetheart do the talking." Ruby said as she stroked Crescent Rose.

"Hey now, as a mother, you really should do all the talking for your baby instead right?" Jaune joked, stepping into the conversation. "Jaune Arc, he introduced himself to the sister, hoping she wouldn't hold on to his hand like Ruby did.

"Yang Xiao-Long," She returned, squeezing his hand once before letting it go. Despite himself, an eyebrow raised.

"Xiao-Long? Not Rose?"

Yang shook her head. "Different mothers," She explained, before turning to Ruby. "Remember Ruby, you're not the only one going through initiation. If you want to grow up, you're going to have to meet new people and learn to work together." She lectured.

Ruby sighed and threw up her hands in defense. "I did!" She said, retreating behind Jaune. "I met Jaune! Mission accomplished. No more growing up necessary, now it's time to fight!"

"Teams are made of four people Ruby," Yang reminded her.

"I'll leave you two to it, I still need to grab my gear, I'll see you at initiation!" Jaune said, walking off to find his locker, pulling out his map as he did so.

Jaune passed by Weiss and Pyrrha as they were chatting near his locker. He did his best to stay out of Weiss's line of sight as he had no desire to deal with her today. He sighed, already knowing that wasn't in the cards.

"So, Pyrrha, have you given any thoughts to whose team you'd like to be on? I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well known individual such as yourself!" Weiss said, laying it on just a bit too thick in Jaune's opinion.

"I'm not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may." Pyrrha responded, sounding like she'd rather be anywhere but there. Jaune didn't blame her. Weiss was sort of a lot to deal with.

"Well...I was thinking that maybe we could be on a team together." Weiss proposed.

"That sounds grand!" Pyrrha replied, with a surprising amount of enthusiasm. Maybe Jaune read her wrong earlier. It wouldn't be the first time.

"Great!" Weiss said, partnership assured.

Jaune would have left it there, but he needed to pass by them, and there was no way about it. "Excuse me, but I need to get by."

Weiss literally growled at him. "You again!"

"Me again," Jaune confirmed. "Jaune Arc, at your service." He said, giving them a bow.

Pyrrha hurriedly stepped forward to meet him. "It's nice to meet you, Jaune! I'm Pyrrha Nikos."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Weiss complains. "You don't know who she is?"

Jaune stared at her, he just couldn't help himself. "Dude, she JUST introduced herself. How could I not know her? She's Pyrrha." He told her, getting a snarl from Weiss and a smile from Pyrrha.

Of course he knew who she was. How could he not? But he could also see that she was clearly uncomfortable with the attention and so he wouldn't draw attention to it. He assumed Weiss wanted something similar but she was going about it the wrong way.

"Seriously, please stop it," Weiss told him. "This kind of behaviour should not be encouraged."

"I agree. I shouldn't have to keep lecturing you on decency and manners yeah? Will this be the last time?" Jaune asked, watching as her face slowly but surely turned red.

Before she could respond, an announcement played on the intercom system. Professor Goodwitch's voice blaring through it. "Would all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."

Weiss passed by Jaune, giving him a dirty look as she did so. Pyrrha followed her, giving Jaune a smile and a wave as she passed. "It was nice meeting you!" He called after her.

Ruby and Yang came up after that, Yang grinning at him. "Having some trouble there lady-killer?"

"Nah, just making some more friends, the more the merrier right?" Jaune responded dryly, getting a chuckle out of her.

"Come on, guys, let's go." Ruby said, grabbing Jaune by the hand and pulling him towards the cliff.

* * *

Jaune found himself standing on a silver tile with all of the other initiates while Headmaster Ozpin and Glynda were in front of them. Ozpin with a mug of coffee or hot chocolate and Goodwitch with a tablet.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Ozpin says to the students, making eye contact with each one of them, to ensure they were listening.

Professor Goodwitch continued where he left off when it became clear that he was done talking. "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumours about the assignment of 'teams.' Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today."

"What? Ohh…" Jaune heard Ruby say to herself, apparently nervous.

Headmaster Ozpin continued, finding his second wind. "These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone that you can work with well.

Ruby groaned.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." Ozpin reveals.

Wait, what?

Ozpin resumes the explanation. "After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die."

"I don't like the sound of that…" Jaune muttered, wondering who his partner would be. He would much prefer this not be left to chance, but what could he do? He hummed to himself as an idea formed.

"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

Ozpin ignored all raised hands. "Good! Now, take your positions."

Jaune stood next to Ruby, ensuring that he would be launched first, and fairly close to her. "Ruby, do you want to be partners?" He whispered.

"Yeah, but who knows if we can manage that." Ruby complained quietly to him. Both of them said nothing as someone ahead of them got launched into the air.

"I have a plan." Jaune said as he pulled out his shield, expanding it and lighting both the light dust and the gravity dust. He watched as a brown haired bulky teen got launched, then timed the time it took Weiss to get launched. Yang was next, and he was fairly sure that his plan would work.

Actually...maybe he was overthinking this? The headmaster never said that their positions couldn't be on the same launch pad. With that thought, he stepped off of his pad, and stood on Ruby's next to her, drawing all eyes to them. "Is this against the rules?" He challenged, locking eyes with Ozpin, who stared back at him before chuckling.

"I suppose not."

"Yay!" An orange haired girl cheered before skipping onto the same platform as a black haired tired looking man and hugging him immediately. "Now we don't even need the sloth signals Renny!"

"I still don't think Sloths sound like that."

"You ready Ruby?" Jaune asked the girl, who was staring at him like she'd never seen him before.

"Wha-"

"He just said to take our positions, he never said or specified that it had to be seperate tiles. I was considering trying to angle it so we met mid flight but I was wondering if I was overthinking it and it looks like I was." Jaune explained.

"That's so awesoooooo" Ruby said, being interrupted as they were suddenly launched into the forest.

Jaune grabbed Ruby's hand as soon as he felt the pad launch them because there was a good chance that they would be separated once they were launched. Which would render this whole exercise pointless.

With Ruby secured with one hand, he held up his expanded shield with the other. "Use your other hand to hold on!" Jaune said, prompting Ruby to use her free hand to grab the shield, balancing the weight and with that secured, the gravity dust lightened them enough for them to simply glide down at a leisurely pace.

"That was so cool! You were all like bwoo bwoo! Grab my hand Ruby! And that was so cool!" Ruby gushed once they landed.

Jaune laughed at her impressions. "I'm glad you approve, partner, so we're heading north. We don't want to waste any time. If we get there fast enough, we might be able to pick our teammates."

Ruby said nothing, merely vanishing and reappearing in front of Jaune at a speed that he could barely track. "If there's anything that I'm good at; it's not wasting time!" Ruby stated proudly.

Jaune looked behind him, seeing the rose petals. "That's pretty fast," he commented.

"Jane," She said, putting an arm around his waist, "You're about to see a whole different side of me today, and then you're going to be like 'Wow! I'm so glad I made that Ruby girl my partner! She's really really cool...and I want to make her cookies!"

"Cookies?" Jaune asked, gently removing her arm from his waist.

"Cookies," she asserted. She then vanished again in a shower of rose petals, which Jaune waved away from his face as he heard crackling and rustling around him.

"Ruby?" Jaune tried, as he pulled out his sword and returned his shield to it's default heater shield form. There was no response from the girl as a large beowolf emerged from the bush and approached him.

"These things never come alone." Jaune said to himself as the beowolf roared and leapt at him. He could tell it was a young one by the way it simply leapt at him with no semblance of strategy or thought. He simply bashed it in the head with his shield, and then stabbed it in the head before it could recover or gain it's bearings.

"One down, several to go," Jaune said to himself as he could now see several more climbing out of the woodwork. They were trying to encircle him, so that they could pick at him from every angle.

He lunged towards the nearest one, but then he saw a smattering or rush petals and veered off course, trusting his instincts. He was rewarded with Ruby appearing right where he had originally been aiming for, slicing that beowolf in two.

"Gotcha!" She said as she scored a hit, using the momentum from her speed to increase her cutting power.

Jaune said nothing for a moment, quickly dispatching his new chosen target before he felt that he needed to speak up at this point, before this happened again in more dangerous conditions. Together, they made short work of the pack of beowolfs and found themselves in a quiet clearing once again.

"Ruby." Jaune said, putting his sword and shield away. "Before we go any further we should probably discuss some battle tactics.

"Battle tactics?" She responded, putting her weapon back up for now.

"Yeah, things like I should be in front in small spaces since I have a shield and can block attacks, things like that,"

"Oh! I see! And you've already come up with some ideas for us already?!" She asked excitedly, stars appearing in her eyes.

"Something like that. The main thing I want to get across before we go any further is that we need to communicate in battle." He said, enunciating the word communicate as he spoke. "For example, where did you go when you vanished?"

"Oh? I was scouting the area!" She said, puffing out her chest proudly.

"And you didn't say anything or tell me because?"

"I uh...I thought you could handle it…?" She trailed off, realizing that the excuse sounded weak even to her ears.

He nodded at her. "Thanks for the compliment, and I could, THIS time. Bad tactics lead to bad habits, which leads to death. What if I couldn't handle it? Or if I didn't see you coming earlier and after you struck the grimm, I struck YOU?"

Ruby gasped, the idea having never occurred to her. "But you wouldn't!"

"If you don't say anything, how would I know? Or if I just do things and you don't know what's going on, who knows what would happen? What if I had just grabbed you when we launched and didn't tell you what I was doing?"

Ruby blushed, seeing what he was getting at now. "I might have freaked out and could have hurt us, or ruined the plan. I'm sorry."

Jaune nodded, glad that she got it. "It's no big deal, just trying to head something off before it could become an issue. It's not You and I vs the world here. It's US vs the world now."

Ruby mouthed what he just said to herself before blinking at him. "Isn't that the same thing?"

"No, it's different."

"How?"

Jaune hummed to himself, before deciding to change the subject. "Anyways! We need to head north, and times a wastin! You said you were scouting the area, can lead us out of the forest?"

Ruby eyed him suspiciously for a moment, before nodding. At that, he bowed to her, exaggerating the bow. "Well then my lady, lead the way," He waggled his eyebrows at her as he said this as well, causing her to roll her eyes and giggle at him.

Jaune couldn't help but think that this was the start of a beautiful partnership.

* * *

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL (Cardinal), led by...Cardin Winchester!" The audience clapped to applaud them.

Jaune wondered to himself if all initiations went It was smooth sailing straight to the Relic Sight. At one point Ruby wanted to try to hitch a ride on a Nevermore of all things but Jaune put a stop to that as soon as she voiced the thought and they were on their way. They made it to the sight, grabbed the white knight pieces and were on their way. Jaune was actually surprised with how smooth it was.

Team CRDL left the stage and was replaced by the next group. " Weiss Schnee. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. Lie Ren." Ozpin names each of them as they stand in front of him. "The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team WPNR(Windsor).

The audience clapped again and Nora hugged the one known as Ren. Jaune looked at all of them, feeling sorry for the team led by Weiss Schnee.

"Lead by, Weiss Schnee."

More clapping, and Jaune shook his head. "Those poor souls."

"And finally. Jaune Arc. Ruby Rose. Blake Belladona, and Yang Xiao-Long." Ozpin announced the last team as WPNR left the stage and Jaune and his team stepped up. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JRBY (Jordy). Led by...Jaune Arc!"

More applause, as Jaune stepped forward. Ozpin looked him in the eye as he offered his hand.

"Congratulations young man." he said as Jaune shook his hand.

"Thank you sir. I won't let you down." He promised.

"Of that, I have no doubt. It looks like things are shaping up to be an...interesting year." Ozpin said to himself as Jaune walked off the stage, reuniting with his team.

"Jaune Arc...where have you been?" Ozpin said to himself as his eyes never left the young man, currently fending off a over affectionate pair of sisters while their stoic teammate watched on with a small smile.


	2. Chapter 2

There was a figure standing next to his bed. But that was nothing new. Well it was here. Jaune had trouble settling in new areas, and this was a big reason why. He was unable to get comfortable and the more he struggled, the tenser he became. And then THEY showed up.

Nicholas and Mary Arc stood at the foot of his bed, staring at him. Jaune considered this a good day because of the simple fact that they appeared how Jaune liked to see them, clean and woundless, rather than how he normally saw them…the day they died.

They didn't speak. They never did. None of them did. Not Father. Not Mother. Not Saffron. None of them. They just stood there, staring at him.

And Jaune understood that. He did. But now wasn't the best time. If Jaune was going to help them, then he needed to do this right. And while Jaune knew that he was strong, he also knew that he wasn't strong enough.

Not yet.

"I know, I know," Jaune mumbled to himself, acutely aware that he wasn't the only living person in the room. "I'm going as fast as I can I promise. But I don't know where he is. I have to make him come to me…and for that I need to be strong…Give me more time." He begged, looking his father in the eye.

Nicholas said nothing, but he and his wife vanished from sight, Jaune releasing a sigh once they did. He sat up in bed for a second or two, before rolling out of bed. He was already awake, so he might as well get some training in before class.

* * *

"Good morning, team JRBY!" Jaune heard Ruby greet as he re-entered the dorm room. She smiled and waved at him energetically upon his entrance, a greeting that he returned with a small smile and a nod.

"Rubes, I love you, but it's too early for this," Yang said, coming out of the bathroom in her school uniform, her hair still damp from a shower.

Ruby ignored the statement, "As the second in command, I decree that we can officially begin our first order of business!"

"Excuse me?" Blake asked, brushing off some imaginary lint from her arms as she sat up.

"Decorating!" Ruby responded, shoving an assortment of items at Blake, her falling from the weight of them.

"Shouldn't we unpack first?" Jaune asks, watching Blake untangle herself from the mess Ruby dumped on her, hissing as she did so.

"And clean." She added, glaring at Ruby. She was taken aback when Ruby blew a whistle in her face.

"That was unnecessary." Jaune said, rebuking Ruby slightly as he helped Blake up from her fallen position.

"Are you going to stop her?" Blake asked as Jaune helped her up, and Jaune simply shrugged in response.

He took this moment to study Blake as Ruby and Yang tussled near the door. She was a fair skinned woman with wavy black hair and amber cat like eyes. She was currenty wearing pajamas, but normally she wore a black buttoned vest with coattails that had a single silver button on the front. Underneath that, she wore a white sleeveless crop undershirt and white shorts with a zipper on each leg. She wore black low-heeled boots on her feet with black fading to purple stockings. Only other noteworthy things on her person were black ribbons wrapped around both forearms, and the gray backpack she wore strapped to her back, hidden by her hair.

Oh, and the Faunus ears she hid beneath her bow. That was noteworthy too. Jaune resolved to talk to her about that as soon as he found a good time to do so. That definitely wasn't today though. He needed to build a rapport with her first.

THEN ask about the secrecy. Then again, like he was one to talk about secrets.

"Alright!" Ruby said, standing at the door. "Me, Blake, Yang and our fearless leader have started our first mission! Let's go!" She raises her fist in the air, Yang mirroring her with a grin. Together they stared at Blake and Jaune, who half heartedly raised a fist as well.

After some time to set up and unpack, Ruby announced that they were done.

"Mission complete guys!" Ruby announced to them, as they admired their handiwork

While Jaune's bed was simply on the ground next to her training weights, Blake's bed is next to her books, which are used to raise Yang's bed over it by placing the novels on the posts, and Ruby's is hanging from ropes on the ceiling with a blanket used as a tent over it.

"We certainly know how to make a place feel like home." Yang brags.

"How will you get to the books between the beds?" Jaune asked Blake who shook her head.

"I won't need those particular ones."

"Alright," Jaune said, knowing that if he didn't Ruby would start yelling again. "Our next order of business is...getting to class. We have a couple of classes together and our first one starts in…" Jaune trailed off as he looked at the schedule. He looked up at everyone before finishing. "Five minutes."

At his sentence, Team JRBY all stared at each other before making a scramble to the door.

"To class!" Ruby declared as they all exited the dorm as fast as they could.

* * *

Jaune studied the drawings of Grimm on the board with interest. Professor Port was a pretty good artist, he had to admit.

Now if only the man could talk the way that he drew…class might have been interesting.

"Monsters! Demons…Prowlers of the night! Yes, creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey! Ha-Ha!" The man said as he began the lecture. Jaune could literally feel his aura protecting him from the boredom this man was emitting.

"And you shall too." He continued while pacing in front of the class. "Upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Now as I was saying: Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world!"

Lies. Nowhere is safe.

"Our planet is teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces! And that's where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses…" He winked at the girls, Yang in particular, causing her to groan and Jaune to make a note to talk to Port later.

"Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves!" Port continued. "From what, you ask? Why, the very world!" He raised his fist in what Jaune assumed was a triumphant gesture. "This is what you are training to become! But first: A story. A tale of a young, handsome man…" Port started. "Me! When I was a boy…"

Ports voice faded into the background as Jaune mentally wrote this class off as a lost cause. Some time later, Jaune wasn't sure, he might have fallen asleep, he heard Port clearing his throat to catch everyone's attention.

"Ah-heh-hem! So who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?" Port asks the students.

Weiss's hand shot up in the air as she practically threw herself into the air. "I do sir!"

Jaune sat up, suddenly interested in where this was going. Even if Weiss was weak, it still had to be better than Port lecturing at least.

"Well, then let's find out!" Professor Port turned to gesture at the glowing red eyes in the cage that he had seemingly pulled out of nowhere. "Step forward and face your opponent!"

God Port was so dramatic, Jaune couldn't help but think, as the unknown grimm continued to growl.

Weiss reappeared in her combat attire, readying her weapon, a rapier of some kind as her teammate, Nora, and Ruby begin to cheer for her.

"Go Weissy!" Nora yelled.

"Represent Team WPNR!" Ruby cheered as well, getting a funny look from Jaune. Why would she cheer for her? They hadn't had any positive interactions as far as he knew.

She lowered her rapier to make eye contact with Ruby. "You dunce! I'm trying to focus!"

**"**Oh, um... Sorry..." Ruby sheepishly replies.

'_You aren't going to tell your team mate that?' _Jaune thought but didn't say. He was going to have to nip this in the bud before Weiss got too terrible.

"Alright!" Professor Port announces, "Let the match begin." He pulls out his axe and uses it to release the lock on the cage.

The cage opens revealing a Boarbatusk that curled up into a ball and rolled straight at Weiss. She used her rapier to deflect its attack and stepped to the side, readying herself for its next move. The Grimm stood a distance away from the girl, uncurling itself.

"Ha ha! Weren't expecting that, were you?" Port comments.

"Hang in there Weissy." Nora yelled to her teammate.

'_She's not as skilled as I assumed.'_ Was Jaune's first thought.

Weiss met the Boarbatusk's rush with one of her own, thrusting her rapier straight at the skull like plating in the center of it's head. Unfortunately for the girl, the boar met her rapier with its tusks, tilting its head to the side, causing it to be wedged between them.

Weiss stubbornly refused to let go, found herself being flung around as she struggled to dislodge her rapier.

Despite himself, Jaune found himself chuckling at the sight, earning himself a glare from the Schnee herself.

"Bold, new approach. I like it!" Port continues his commentary in the background.

"Come on, Weiss, show it who's boss!" Ruby tried cheering again.

That switched her glare from Jaune to Ruby, only for the grim to turn its head and rip the rapier away from her grip. It landed a fair distance away from the girl, who was forced back by the creature's tusks.

"Eyes on the prize Schnee." Jaune called out, waving his hand dryly.

"Oh-ho! Now what will you do without your weapon?" Port asks.

She looked up just in time to see the Boarbatusk charge her again. She managed to roll out of the way, narrowly avoiding getting trampled as the grimm rolled into a desk, doing significant damage to it. She ran for her rapier and managed to grab it just as the grimm reoriented itself.

"Try going for the belly, there's no plating there." Jaune advised, following Ruby's lead. He would much rather her yell at him, then her.

"Don't tell me what to do!" She screamed at him, causing him to frown darkly at her. "Then show me that you can handle it then!" He barked back, his voice a growl.

She was still staring at Jaune as the grimm leapt into the air, spinning rapidly as it rolled into a ball and landed on the ground, launching itself at Weiss at surprising speed.

It came closer and closer to the girl before she activated her semblance and blocked the roll with a glyph, leaping onto the now black glyph and turning it from black to blue so that she could drive her blade into its stomach. It roared in pain before that roar shifted into a squeal, causing Weiss to let out a sigh of relief.

"Bravo! Bravo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress-in-training!" Port said once the beast finally vanished. Weiss stood up at attention from her exhausted position and Jaune noticed Ruby looking down at her lap, looking hurt. He tapped her shoulder and mouthed 'meet me after class', until he received a nod from her.

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today." Port continues "Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and... stay vigilant! Class dismissed!"

Weiss glared at the two of them and turned away, storming past her teammates. Jaune stood up and followed her swiftly. If Weiss wanted to be bratty she could do that all she wanted, but she would not keep attacking Ruby like she was.

* * *

Despite how quickly Weiss had stormed off, Jaune's longer strides helped him catch up to her in no time. "Weiss, wait up."

"What?!" She replied as she turned to face her fellow leader, with an ugly look on her face. Jaune was sure that the look on his face was just as ugly as he responded. "We need to talk. Now."

"What? I-" She started, but Jaune interrupted her, speaking over her.

"No. I don't know what your deal is, nor do I care. What I care about is how you're treating my partner. And you're going to stop. Today."

"What's wrong with you?" She retorted. "You're supposed to be a leader and all you're doing is letting your 'partner act out and be a general nuisance!"

Jaune scoffed. "She did what? Cheer you on? Same as your team mate I might add, of which you said nothing about."

She ignored that statement, instead choosing to respond with, "Your teammate is a hazard to my health!"

Jaune outright laughed at that, before looking down at her, using his height to his advantage. "No, what will be a hazard to your health is if you continue to talk to her that way. Now, whether it will be me, or her sister that gets to you is up in the air, but you better hope it's not me." He finished, glaring down at her.

She flinched, and then turned her back to Jaune, who was content to watch her run off with her tail between her legs. She stopped before she reached the corner.

"Ozpin made a mistake, accepting her here, AND making a brute like you leader." She finally said before storming off.

Jaune shrugged, and turned around, only to come face to face with the headmaster, again holding a cup of something in one hand and his cane in the other. "Hmm…Now that didn't seem to go very well." He commented.

Jaune shook his head, "About as well as could be expected."

"Tell me Mr. Arc, do you think I made a mistake?" Jaune looked at the man, but couldn't see anything in his gaze.

"Do you mean in accepting Ruby, or in making me leader?"

"Yes."

"Well, it's too early to tell, it's only been one day. And while I think Weiss shouldn't be in charge of a shopping cart, let alone a team, she may surprise me later."

"You are correct, it has only been one day." Ozpin concurred. "Mr. Arc…I've made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet. But at this moment, I would not consider either you or Ms. Rose to be one of them."

Jaune hummed at this, before looking at the Headmaster once again. "You're sort of weird Professor Ozpin.

Ozpin choked on the coffee he was drinking.

* * *

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting long, I had to set something up," Jaune stated, meeting Ruby outside their last class.

"No, no, I just got here. So what are we doing?" She asked, falling in step behind Jaune as he led them through the school.

"Well, you said you were my second this morning and that got me thinking, I should really ensure that you're up to snuff, and if you're not…well at the very least I can help you get there."

"You saw me fighting in the Emerald Forest!" Ruby said, "I was all Bwahh huu, chop chop!" She said using a myriad of hand motions and sound effects.

Jaune nodded as they reached the room he had reserved. "Yeah, that's true. But fighting people and fighting Grimm are two very different animals."

"But we're not going to be fighting people," Ruby stated as Jaune opened the door.

Jaune gave a dark smile as he walked in behind her, "Yes, Ruby, we will. I promise you that. And I want to be sure that, as my second you can take care of yourself. It's your job to lead when I'm not around and take care of the team. This is the first step."

"Alright…" Ruby said, grabbing Crescent Rose when Jaune handed it to her, watching as he pulled out his sword, and expanded the shield. "So we just…fight?"

"Yeah. I didn't set up the aura meters or anything so I'll call it when I've seen enough. On the count of three…two…one."

As soon as Jaune said 'one' Ruby vanished, leaving a shower of rose petals in her wake. Jaune could see that there was a slight upward tilt in the shower of petals which gave him a good indication of where she had headed. He looked up just in time to see Ruby turn her back to him to fire a shot in the air, using the recoil to push herself forward.

'_She uses the recoil of the gun to increase her speed and to give her more cutting power. Not a bad strategy…except' _Jaune analyzed as he chose to roll out of the way, being rewarded by the sickle of Crescent Rose barreling past him.

"I missed!" Ruby shouted, before glaring at Jaune and vanishing again. This time the petals scattered in all directions, leaving Jaune to guess where she would be coming from.

'_Alright, so she uses the recoil to fling herself at me, which means she can only attack in a straight line. She won't try from the air again, so she should be…'_

Jaune's thoughts were proven true when he heard the distinctive sound of a sniper rifle being shot behind him. He threw himself to the side as quickly as he can only to be surprised that he was being sliced at. He was rewarded the feeling Ruby's rounds ping off his aura and was forced to finish his roll and return to a standard blocking position.

"Not bad, Ruby! I'll admit, you're better than I thought!" He called out to the girl, who stuck her tongue out at him.

"Save that talk for when you score a hit Jaune!" She called back, vanishing again in a shower of petals.

That was getting old. Jaune thought, releasing the hard light variant of his shield. Time to show her who was boss here. And it certainly wasn't her! The more she vanished, the easier she was getting for him to track, so he could now tell the general direction that she was heading in. He knew that she had to come at him in a straight line, so all he had to do was position himself just so…

And when Ruby threw herself at Jaune, he used the gravity dust in his shield to blast her. The momentum of Ruby's semblance enhanced speed met with the force of Jaune's shield pushing her and since he was heavier than her and grounded…she was flung backward at a significant speed.

"Ow…" Ruby said, holding her hand on her hand before she felt something on her throat. She opened her eyes to see Jaune holding his blade to her, eyes cold. "And that's dead."

He removed his blade and helped her up, before putting his own weapon away. "You did much better than I expected Ruby, but I did notice some things that we can work on…"

"Like…?" Ruby asked, not even sore about losing, which impressed Jaune. He wasn't expecting Weiss level tantrum but he expected anger in some form. That there wasn't was a point in her favor.

"You use your semblance and recoil to add power to your strikes, which works fine on Grimm, but not so much when you're fighting human opponents. Because you use the recoil, that pre determines the path that you take, and it's a straight line, which if you fight someone faster than you, or observant won't end well for you."

"I never thought of that, I'm pretty used to running circles around my dad and Yang. My uncle Qrow helped me come up with this style! It works for me."

"Hmm. It does, we're just going to add a few things. First, we need to focus on increasing your physical strength, so you don't even need to use recoil. That should solve a lot of your problems right there. That way when you do use it, it should be even stronger."

"Alright chief!" Ruby saluted, standing at attention now. "What else?"

"Your semblance. It's not exactly super speed…because you leave those flower petals everywhere, but they sort of…angle in whichever way you're going. It makes it slightly easier to track you if you know what you're looking for. What exactly is your semblance?"

"Oh! I call it Petal Burst! I sort of move so fast that I teleport! And…that's it."

"And the rose petals?" Jaune asked, noting that her explanation didn't really make any sense. She simply shrugged at him. "There always there, not really sure why."

"If there always there, then that means there's an aspect of your semblance that you haven't touched yet, something else that we can work on. I'll come up with a work out plan for you and we'll go from there. Sound good?"

"I mean, it sounds pretty good to me…anything else?"

Jaune nodded, wandering how to broach this topic. "Why were you cheering for Weiss earlier? I know you two don't exactly get along."

Ruby became more animated as she hurried to explain. "That's exactly why I had to cheer for her! I wanted her to like me and for us to be friends!"

"Why? What possible reason could you have to want to be Weiss's friend?" Jaune said. Maybe Ruby was angling for a dust discount or something like that? If so there were much less noisy ways to get one of those.

"I mean…we're all together in this fight against the Grimm right? It only makes sense that we're all friends too."

"I…wish I could believe that. You can't exactly trust everyone around you Ruby. That's just asking for heartache."

"No, that's wrong!" Ruby denied instantly, drawing a frown on Jaune's face. How could he make her see without telling her…

"Ruby, you and Yang are half-sisters right?" At her nod, Jaune continued. "How did that come up, if you don't mind my asking. Was it an accident or…?"

"Oh! No no no! I was planned! I think…" Ruby trailed off blushing, before her face cleared up due to the conversation. "Yang's mom sorta…left Dad and Yang when she was a baby. Then Dad met mom and she had me."

"And she was a huntress?" Jaune asked for clarification. At Ruby's nod, he continued, "Well, that right there is proof enough that not everyone can be trusted. Weiss being one of them."

"But, maybe she had a good reason for that?" Ruby tried, before wincing at how that sounded.

"Can YOU think of a good reason to walk out on your husband and daughter? Although to be honest, I'm glad she did." Jaune said, placing his hand on his chin as the thought occurred to him.

"Wha-Don't ever let Yang hear you say that Jaune! Why would you be-"

"Well, if she hadn't done that then you wouldn't be here would you? And that would be pretty tragic." Jaune told her, giving her the softest smile that she had ever seen from the boy.

Seeing the expression that Ruby was looking at him with made Jaune uncomfortable, so he changed the subject. "You don't have to change your mind right now, but it's something that I would like you to keep in mind. Not everyone can be trusted. And just because they're a huntsman or huntress, that doesn't guarantee that they're a friend. Ally maybe, but not friend."

Ruby could only nod in a daze, giving Jaune another idea. "Hey Ruby, do you mind if I try something? It has to do with your semblance. I want to use my semblance on it." He added, sharpening her gaze and bringing her focus back to the here and now.

"OF COURSE!" Ruby yelled at maximum value, causing Jaune to flinch and her to cover her face with her hands.

* * *

Ruby couldn't believe that she just did that! Jaune had to be thinking that she was a spazz at this point! She peeked out from between her fingers to find Jaune watching her, eyes steady. That was all Jaune ever did, she noticed. He was always watching and observing everything around him. She would have found it weird, only it was due to that simple fact that he was able to track her when she used her semblance. Not even Uncle Qrow could actually tell where she was moving! He just used his old experienced huntsman mojo to sense her!

Not Jaune. He SAW her. Ruby Rose! It was a simple thing, but the sheer fact of that simply made Ruby…

Well, it made her feel weird.

"Hello? Earth to Ruby?" Jaune's rough, gravelly voice called her back to attention. "Right! Semblance! What is yours again?" She said, putting on her serious face.

Jaune looked at her weirdly for a moment so she quickly dropped it. "My semblance is called Amp. It lets me…for lack of a better term greatly amplify the aura of myself or others. So if I use it on you and you use your semblance…"

"It'll be super charged and might give me an idea of what to work on! That's brilliant!" Ruby beamed, and it was. Jaune's semblance sounded really cool now that she thought about it. She wandered how Yang's semblance would work, amplified. Or even Dad or Uncle Qrow! Well maybe not Uncle Qrow, she amended, once she remembered what his semblance actually did.

"Okay, I'm ready," Ruby said, doing her best not to blush as Jaune reached a hand towards her.

XXx

Jaune placed his hand on Ruby's head, for a lack of a better place to put it, and focused. He could feel the current of his own aura running through him and using his hand as a conduit, he 'pushed' his aura into Ruby.

Her own aura felt…intense to him. It was all over the place, zipping to and fro like the girl herself now that he thought about it. But underneath that he thought he could feel…a sadness that he couldn't help but empathize with.

Before Jaune could examine her further, Ruby Rose exploded.

She literally exploded. Jaune yelped as Ruby split into three separate streams of…flower petals and they began arcing around the gymnasium in various patterns. They weren't moving as fast as Ruby normally did, seeing as Jaune had no problem tracking them, but they were picking up speed and in no time, Jaune wouldn't have known that they were there at all if he hadn't been watching her pick up speed.

Actually now that Jaune looked closer, it looked like Ruby was creating slipstreams she was moving so fast! And if she created her own slipstreams, it would take less power for her to follow along the same paths that she had already created…

The possibilities for this in regards to Ruby, and hell team attacks were endless! Jaune was cut from his musing as he felt himself plucked out off the ground and whizzing around the world at breakneck speed.

"Isn't this awesome! I'm so fast!" Jaune heard Ruby yelling once his ears adjusted to the new speed.

"Yeah! Now that we know everything that you can do boosted, I want to try to get you doing all of this without the boost!"

"That would be amazing, I'm extremely open to any ideas!" Ruby screamed back as they whirled through the gymnasium. It appeared as though Jaune's weight didn't really bother Ruby, which was interesting as he was pretty sure that she couldn't carry him normally.

She had no problems doing it now though.

Interesting.

But that was something to consider later. For now, Jaune was content to let Ruby zip him around the gymnasium. Until her aura ran out anyway. Then it right back to training.

For the both of them now. Jaune was sure of it now. Ruby would be monumentally important to his plans. And he would die before he let anything happen to her.

And Arcs always kept their word.


	3. Chapter 3

It was dangerous to ignore the details. He really should have known better by this point.

He had to ask her to repeat herself. Just to double check. Maybe triple check if he thought he could get away with it. And he could. He was in charge here.

"You want to…what?" He asked Ruby to repeat herself one more time, hoping that he had heard her wrong, although he knew that he didn't.

She repeated it back to him, verbatim, just as excited as the first time. "I want to start a volunteer force! One that goes around Vale and helps those that need it! Something by the people, for the people!"

"And it has to be us, because…?" Blake asked, curious to where Ruby was going with this.

Of course, Ruby had an answer for that. "Jaune told me the other day while we were training, that not everyone that we work with…or deal with will be trustworthy. And, I really don't like that. There's not a lot that I can do about that, but this is something that we can do to help! We can show everyone that although not everyone is good and helpful, WE are! That's what I want."

And, of course it was Jaune's fault. Typical.

How could any of them say no to that?

* * *

It was apparent that none of them could, not even Yang who had built up a small immunity to Ruby's…rubiness so they found themselves patrolling Vale, looking for something to do.

"What exactly are we looking for Rubes?" Yang asked, arms behind her head, clearly bored and pointedly, NOT looking for something to help with.

"Something! Anything! I don't know…Weiss?" Ruby finished, looking ahead.

Blake and Jaune groaned, sharing a look of misery at seeing the heiress. None of team Ruby, sans Ruby herself could stand the girl. Fortunately, it appeared that her team was with her, so that would make more tolerable.

Only slightly though.

"Vale's a small place, what brings your team out to the docks on the weekend like this?" Jaune asked. Even though Weiss got on his nerves, it couldn't hurt to be polite.

"None of your business you Boar!" Weiss shot back, giving him a suspicious, strange look.

Apparently, it could hurt to be polite. It caused damage to your teeth when you ground them into dust. Nora spoke up before Jaune could respond to that though.

"We're scouting the competition for the Vyltal Festival! Probing for weaknesses and hidden motives!" Nora said, getting way too close to Jaune for his comfort. Luckily Ren was there to pull her back.

"More of the first thing, and a very small amount of the second, Jaune. She's exaggerating." He said, using his arm to usher her backward. She went willingly, her information given, radiating smugness.

"Nora!" Weiss barked, aghast. "That was supposed to be a secret!"

"Now, now, it was a simple mistake," Pyrrha consoled, the girl. "It wasn't explicitly stated to be a secret, so how was she to know?"

Weiss conceded to that, merely pouting in reply. Well a quiet Weiss was more preferable to a speaking one.

"Hello again, Jaune was it?" Pyrrha said, waving at him cheerily.

Jaune looked at her, nodding in response as he studied her. Unlike practically everyone else that Jaune had seen at Beacon, Pyrrha wore armor. She wore a brown corset with an elastic, black mini skirt and long brown gloves on both arms. She wore a red ankle length sash that was wrapped around her skirt. She had elaborate bronze greaves that started below her mid thighs and continued all the way into her boots. She also had a cuisse on each thigh that ended slightly above the knee. And on her left arm she had bronze bracer that Jaune assumed her shield was usually held.

All in all she looked fairly dangerous and Jaune could respect. "Yes, it's Jaune, nice to see you again Pyrrha."

"Jaune Jaune!" And suddenly there was a turquoise eye peering into his own. "It was so incredible the way you creamed Cardin in combat practice! Weissy was impressed! She couldn't stop talking about it!"

Oh she was, was she?

"That was said in jest Nora! And in confidence." She said the last part weakly, a blush on her face.

"No worries, Weiss. Your secret is safe with us," Yang said, a mocking grin on her face. It's been clear since Weiss yelled at Ruby during Port's class that Yang was not her biggest fan. Anything that would embarrass her was a plus in her books.

Apparently Nora was of the same mind. Something that Jaune would consider if Nora was even slightly more predictable. But she wasn't so Jaune did his best to stay clear of her.

It was the unpredictable ones that you needed to watch the most. But that was Weiss's problem not his.

"It was flawless victory Jaune. You've obviously trained yourself hard." Pyrrha complemented.

Too little, too late. Where was all that strength when Jaune needed it?

"There's always room for improvement," Was what came out of his mouth instead, tasting like ash the moment he said it.

"Yeah! You should see one of our training sessions, it gets really intense." Ruby added, this time without any sound effects or overexplaining what they were doing.

That was good. That meant that his lessons were sinking in. Either that or she didn't want to do any more drills for oversharing.

Either way it was improvement.

"Training?" Weiss asked, hungry for more information. "You two have secret training?"

"Mm." Ruby confirmed, but said nothing more. Since Jaune had given her time to think about, her feelings and dealings with Weiss had cooled off, leaving everyone all the happier for them.

His team anyone. Jaune didn't particular care about anyone else's feelings. He decided that he had paid enough attention to the people at hand and decided to focus on the streets. Now that Weiss mentioned it, the streets were being decorated for the Upcoming Vytal Festival. Red, yellow and green streamers were displayed prominently through the streets.

Now all the awed noises that Ruby had been making were starting to make sense.

Jaune really needed to pay better attention. He KNEW not paying attention was dangerous and things would still slip by him.

He needed to be better. He would be better.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much, Weissy" Nora said, then her grin widened. "I like it."

"I smile all the time!" Weiss defended, crossing her arms. "I'm a happy person."

"Are you though?" Jaune said, re-entering the conversation.

"Of course! I just think…it's best to be on your guard when you don't know the intentions of those around you…" Weiss trailed off, surprised at the approval that she could see in Jaune's eyes at that statement.

"Mm. Fair point." He conceded. That made far too much sense for his liking. Something like that coming from Weiss? That made no sense.

"How could you not smile?" Weiss said to Nora. "A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances! Parades! A tournament! Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breath-taking!" she continues walking and the others start to follow her.

Yang sighed, crossing her arms. "You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring."

Jaune nudged Ruby, pointing at something down the street. She looked over to a dust store with a shattered window and a door full of yellow caution tape, courtesy of the police force.

"Hey, guys, we'll see you later," Ruby said, showing Yang and Blake what she was looking at. "Have fun spying on the competition Weiss!"

"It's not spying!" She yelled back before looking back at Jaune before he left. "Boar."

"Schnee."

"I-I" She tried, before taking a breath and trying again. Jaune raised a brow, wandering what she wanted despite herself. "I challenge you to a duel."

What. Wait, use your words Jaune.

"What." He said just as flatly. He waved Ruby and the others forward, and only Blake remained, distrustful of the Schnee heiress.

"Ruby said that you were training her, which implies that you are stronger than her. And as a team leader, one with Pyrrha Nikos at that, we have to be the strongest. I can't…we have to be the strongest. So I need to know how strong you are…hence the duel."

Jaune hummed as he turned that over in his head. He was pretty sure that he was stronger, due to Weiss's battle with the grimm in the class the other day, but he could be dealing with the exact opposite of Ruby; strong against people, weak against grimm.

"You saw me fight Cardin though. That wasn't enough?" He asked, curious to hear her response. This was a new side of Weiss that he hadn't seen before. One he was interested in getting to know. She could be useful.

A response that she waved away. "It's Cardin. Anyone of us could wipe the floor with him. It's a wander that Faunus riff raff he keeps picking on doesn't mop the floor with him. Maybe she can't."

Ah, there was the Weiss that Jaune was used to.

"What's your problem?!" Blake asked accusingly, anger in her voice. It was at this point that Jaune remembered that Blake was a faunus, and that he still needed to talk to her about that.

This wouldn't end well.

Weiss turned to Blake and responded arrogantly, mask back in place. "My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane."

"Faunus are hardly a bunch of psychopaths." Blake crossed her arms now, getting angrier by the second. "There just happens to be…a collection of misguided Faunus."

"Misguided?" Weiss questions sarcastically. "The White Fang want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!"

"They don't!" Blake says loudly. "They want to be treated fairly, but there willing to go to extreme lengths to achieve it. I don't like their methods, but don't make light of what their goal is."

"So then they're very misguided." Blake raises her voice. "Either way, that doesn't have anything to do with why Cardin is bullying a faunus! "

"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum." Weiss continues her from where she left off, much to Blake's growing anger. "Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal. I bet she's a plant for the White Fang to get into Beacon."

"Wow." Jaune remarks. "That's a pretty far reach…"

He needed a distraction before this came to blows. Admittedly he should have stepped in earlier, but he had thought that Blake could handle herself. It looked like she felt her emotions rather strongly. He expected that more from Yang but it was good to know before he set her off. Accidentally of course.

The heated conversation was suddenly interrupted by someone in the background yelling, "Hey, stop that Faunus!"

Not the kind of distraction he wanted. Or needed.

Jaune, Blake and Weiss looked over to see a monkey Faunus running down the length of a boat and leaping on to the edge as the two sailors are about to apprehend him.

He looked back at his pursuers, cocky grin in place. "Thanks for the ride guys! Haha!" He said as he jumped off the dock and took off.

"You no-good stowaway!" One of the sailors yells.

Sun stops at a lamppost, using his tail to hang from it while he peels back a banana. "Hey! A no-good stowaway would've been caught! I'm a great stowaway!" Before can eat though, one of the detectives down below throws a stone at him to get his attention.

"Ruby!" Jaune barked, catching her attention. When she looked over at him across the distance, he pointed at Sun. "Stow-away that needs to be caught! Looks like a job for team JRBY!"

Jaune's plan was too fold. With how quickly he moved, Ruby would have no choice but to use her semblance. She currently struggled with endurance and using it in times of stress. This killed two birds with one stone. And it gave some experience with tracking, something that he wasn't sure she had.

And if the faunus somehow overpowered her…well Yang was there too.

At first she looked confused but then that shifted to glee and determination. She vanished in a swirl of rose petals, leaving Yang to visually chase after them. The faunus quickly noticed his pursuers and a chase began in earnest.

"No regard for law enforcement!" Weiss yelled, bringing the conversation back into focus.

Terrific.

"Well, you wanted to see the competition and there it goes…" Jaune said, waving at the direction the faunus and part of his team went to.

"Quick! We have to observe him!" Weiss shouted, pointing in the same direction. Jaune watched as Weiss and her team got further and further away.

"I accept your challenge!" Jaune yelled at the retreating heiress. Mission accomplished. He turned to see Blake standing there pensively, hackles still raised.

Oh man, what to do about that?

"Blake? Don't let Schnee get to you. I know not every faunus is of the White Fang, I mean look at you."

Sharp golden eyes quickly darted to his own, then to something behind him.

"You know?!"

Jaune shrugged, readying himself to catch the girl because she looked like she was going to bolt. "I mean, yeah? Ghira BELLADONNA is the current chieftain of Menagerie and it's safe to say that you share some features with him, and his wife. Especially the wife. And…not a lot of adults wear ribbons like that." He finished, eyeing her bow.

Jaune's instincts were proven right when she bolted. Or rather, tried to. Jaune quickly grabbed her hand, only for it to vanish like an after image.

"Semblance…damn it Blake!"

He quickly chased her down the corner, only to run into someone and bounce up. He stood up as fast as he could and looked up only to see Blake disappear from her view.

He hissed in annoyance…he looked down to see the girl that he knocked over just laying there. He sighed.

"Sal-u-ta-tions!" The girl greeted, still laying on the ground, smiling at him widely.

This girl was weird.

"Uh…Hi? Are you…okay?" Jaune asked.

"I'm wonderful! Thank you for asking." She responded, laying on the floor.

He looked upwards wondering why he was dealing with this before asking. "Are you…going to get up?"

She seemed to be thinking about this fairly heavily before nodding. "Yes!" She said as she leapt back on her feet while Jaune took a step back. "My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"My name's Jaune. It's nice to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you friend Jaune!" She said.

Jaune stared, not sure what to do at this point. Penny stared back grin in place before she waved again. He took the opportunity to study her, for lack of anything else to do.

She had short, curly orange hair that ran down to her chin with a small point that stood up at the top, similar to Yang's, along with a pink bow in the back of her hair. Her eyes were a bright grin and she had light pale skin that was dotted with freckles. She wore a gray blouse that was covered with dress overalls with a black and green collar with stockings to match.

All in all, she would be pretty cute, if she wasn't so…strange.

"Sal-u-tat-tions!" She waved again.

"We've already done this." Jaune pointed out.

Penny paused for a second, before nodding. "Yes, yes I did." She responded.

"Well, sorry for running into you," Jaune said stepping around the girl, turning around to track down Blake. "Take care 'friend' Penny,"

He completed his turn only to find Penny standing in front of him now. He blinked.

"What did you call me?"

"Weird?"

"No. You called me 'friend!' Am I really your friend?" She said, sounding extremely excited about the idea.

Oh how Jaune wished Ruby or…anyone was here with him. What to do…

"Sure, why not?"

Penny looked overjoyed and laughed, taking Jaune's hands in her own. "Sen-sational! We can go hang out at the mall, go to the movies and partake in the diner experience!

What on earth had he just agreed to? But wait! Maybe he could use this?

"Hey, Penny…do you mind doing me a friendly favor?" He asked, gently removing his hand and again taking a step back to remove himself from her bubble.

"That would be sen-sational! What do you need?"

* * *

The faunus wasn't faster than her, but he could maneuver A LOT better than she could.

For now anyway. Even as she chased him down she learned a little bit more about her semblance. How to turn with the wind to cut down on resistance, how to make sharper and sharper turns. Before long, she would have him right where she wanted him!

The problem was, he was already where she wanted him. Jaune meant well, and he was doing wonders for her strength and agility, but there were some things you just couldn't learn in the training room. And Ruby didn't think that Jaune understood that.

Or maybe he did. He did after all send her after the faunus unaided in the first place.

"Hey Rubes! Wait up!"

Well, there was Yang, but she didn't count. Here on the mean streets of Vale it was merely Ruby and…

Wait a second.

"Hey Mister-Stowaway! What's your name?" She asked as she whirled around him, flower petals solidifying into the shape of Ruby as she locked eyes with the Faunus. He was a tan-skinned male with short spiky blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore two red bracers over black gloves and open loose collared jacket with no undershirt! Bad Monkey Man! He wore blue cargo pants that were tied up with a white belt. And of course, there was the long yellow prehensile tail.

"The name's Sun! You got a name to go with those moves Red?" He asked nonchalantly, using his tail as an extra limb as he twirled around the hand that Ruby extended trying to grab him.

"My name's Ruby! I'd say it's nice to meet you, but it's my job to bring you in!" She responded, choosing to grab the same street lamp that Sun had just thrown himself off of and swung off of it as well. Before she let go of the post however, she broke into immeasurable amount of rose petals utilizing all the extra momentum she garnered from her swing as a boost.

If she timed it just right…

Sun wasn't expecting that and a mass of petals stormed into him, Ruby grabbing him and continuing on her way. She was pretty sure that she saw Yang further back in the streets and spun that way. She knew from traveling with Jaune that her travel was disorienting if one wasn't used to it, so she used that to her advantage.

If Sun puked on her, she would be very upset though.

* * *

Blake was…Blake wasn't sure what she was doing. She just knew that she needed to get away from Jaune as fast as she could. And from there she could…what?

What could she do? Jaune was simply observant. And clearly he knew of her family and simply chose not to share it, so maybe…he could be trusted.

But she had thought the same thing of the last man she trusted and that didn't exactly end well for her.

Her thoughts were driven right out of her as she ran into someone. Literally.

She let out an grunt of surprise as the person she ran into stood there, looking down at her.

With an eerie grin on her face actually.

"Sal-u-tations, Friend Blake! Per Friend Jaune's instructions, I have located you and have a message to pass on!"

Blake's eyes narrowed as she stared at the girl, who stared back at her humming to herself. After some time of this, she sighed, before Blake realized that the girl wasn't going to volunteer the information herself.

She was going to make Blake ask.

"Do you…want to give me the message?" She finally ground out when she felt that she wouldn't hurt this girl in front of her.

"Of course! Friend Jaune says to meet him at the Ice Flower over at Main Street to discuss things! He said that he will be by himself so you don't need to worry about that! I will stand guard for you!"

That was nice of him. And suspicious. Wait.

"You? Stand guard?"

"I am combat ready!" The girl said, placing her hands on her hips and grinning widely. Blake shook her head, deciding to ignore the strange girl and to head to the café that Jaune mentioned. Maine wasn't too far from here after all.

* * *

Jaune watched as Blake stood outside the café for a moment, debating whether to go in or not. He wouldn't stop her either way, but he hoped that she would enter. She closed her eyes and slowly lifted her hands up to her bow and pulled it out, revealing her faunus ears for the world to see.

Jaune had to admit, it really suited her.

She came in and spotted Jaune immediately. She headed over and sat down across from him, eyeing him warily.

"I knew you would look better without that thing." He said, nodding to the waitress as she brought over some tea. "I ordered for you, I hope you don't mind."

Blake gave him a look that he couldn't describe before taking a sip and eying him sadly. Or he assumed it was sadly due to the way her ears flicked downward. "Jaune…are you familiar with the White Fang?"

"Yes."

Blake waited to see if he would volunteer more information. And when he didn't, she continued.

"I…was once a member of the White Fang." At the reveal she took a sip from her tea cup and waited for a reaction. But Jaune had none. He just stared at her, waiting for more. No judgement. She relaxed and continued.

"You could almost say that I was born into it. Back then things were different. We were supposed to be a symbol of peace and unity. But of course, things didn't work out like that. Humanity still thought of us as lesser beings, and so, the White Fang rose up. And I was there. But I wasn't a part of the violent missions and I didn't know about them! I promise!" It was crucial that Jaune believed her.

He had to.

"There were rumors of course, but I didn't believe them. Until I started to look into them. And once I confirmed my fears…I decided to leave."

"Good."

The simple reply left Blake reeling. "Come again?"

"I'm glad you left. And if you're looking for condemnation from me, you're going to be looking for quite some time. You were young Blake, and if what my research about the Belladonas imply, you didn't really have a choice but to be a White Fang member. And there's nothing wrong with that."

She stood up, emotions running across her face so fast that Jaune couldn't read them.

"How can you say that?! Of course it matters!"

"Does it? How so?"

"Because I need to fix it! I HAVE to fix it!"

Jaune nodded like he was following along with her logic. Then he asked that dreaded question.

"How?"

"I-I"

"Let me ask you something Blake. You said you left the White Fang right? Would it be more accurate to say that you ran?"

At her glowering look, he held up his hand. "Let me finish. You left because you weren't strong enough to change the White Fang, despite how much you wanted to. Has anything changed since you left in you, strength wise?"

At her head shake, Jaune shook his head. "Wrong."

"Of course nothing's changed! It's only been a few weeks!"

"You have a team now. That's changed. Your goals are our goals. You want an easy solution, something that you can do right now that will produce immediate noticeable results. I get what you're going for…but you're not strong enough for that. None of us are. Not yet anyway."

He didn't want to do this, but he knew that it was needed to get the point across. He reached across the table and grabbed her hands, holding them in his.

"Blake, I promise that I will help you change the White Fang. And make things better for the Faunus in general. We will make a difference I promise."

"How-how can you be so sure?" She asked, her voice small. He looked at her, debating at whether to share this with her or not. Out of everyone on his team, he was fairly certain that Blake would understand.

She was the most like him after all.

"I don't like Huntsmen."

At the abrupt subject change, Blake startled, but she could see that he was going somewhere with this so she let him continue.

"They can only feel good about themselves by thinking of others as less than them, and when you think people are less than you…you can do whatever you want to them," At this Jaune started to take off his gloves, catching Blake's attention.

Since they had started at Beacon, no one has seen Jaune's hands. They assumed that he had horrific burns that he hid or that he in fact had prosthetic ones.

None of those were true, for it was normal pale hands with wiggling fingers that met her eyes.

"The Arcs were a prominent family of Huntsman, did you know that? You named a skill we had it, all of them were gifted, except for me,"

Blake tried to say something, anything really, but Jaune spoke over her. Maybe this was more for him than for her. He was no longer sure.

"Did you hear about the tragedy of Ansel?"

Once again, startled at the seemingly random subject change, she recited what she knew. "That was where the latest grimm incursion occurred right? The one five years ago? No one survived. The town, the city, everyone was torn to shreds by the grim that ran rampant. Only the huntsmen sent in from Vale managed to stave them off, saving the rest of the country from falling to the incursion." She recited from memory.

"It wasn't an incursion."

"What?" Blake asked, and made the mistake of looking at Jaune. His eyes were dark, but she could see the fury and rage in them.

"It was a huntsman. Just one huntsman. He killed every single person in the village and there wasn't a thing anyone could do to stop him. Not my mom. Not my dad. Not my sisters. Me."

He looked down at this, but never stopped talking. "We all tried everything but he was a monster. It was like he couldn't feel pain. I'm fairly certain that he couldn't as he had dust crystals jammed into each of his arms like it was acupuncture."

Jaune paused to take a breath. He looked back up at Blake and Blake wasn't sure that she liked what she saw in them.

"And Blake. He. Wouldn't. Stop. Before long only I was left. And you know what that...that monster did?"

Blake shook her head, almost too afraid to say anything.

Of course Jaune would never hurt her.

But she had no idea who this was in front of her.

"He activated my aura. Him!" Jaune hissed, mouthing the words to her. "For it is in failure that we achieve immortality. Through this, we are bound to our task, an endless quest without pause or rest. Cursed by duty and unbound by time. I release your soul, and by my hand...condemn thee."

Jaune said nothing after that, eyeing the tea cup in front of him like it held all the answers.

* * *

Blake swallowed. This what not what she expected when she came to the cafe. Judging from how silent Jaune was currently, he didn't expect it either.

How to handle this?

"Why did you tell me this?" She found herself asking. Darn mouth, working faster than her mind.

Jaune looked back up at her, and she was relieved to see the madness she saw earlier gone. But she wouldn't forget it was there.

Never.

He took a breath. "I know all of the White Fang is important to you, but I also know that that isn't why you left. There's something else. Someone that you're running from. I can tell. Maybe their was a change in leadership and all they need is the right person to fix it…"

"But I need to be stronger first". Blake finished for him. And it made a shocking amount of sense.

Why didn't she think of that? If might made right for the others...then couldn't it do the same for her?

"I plan to get strong enough to kill the man with the dust arms." Jaune stated, looking directly at her. "And then I'm going to kill whoever is in charge of that man, and THEN I'm going to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again."

"That's a pretty tall order,". Blake said, drawn in despite herself. "And how are you going to accomplish all of that?"

"With your help of course."

* * *

Ruby miscalculated. So very badly. She was right to tackle Sun out of the air but her aim needed a little work.

Objective; Capture Sun. Check

Bonus objective; run into Torchwick with an army of faunus with him? Clearly planning something suspicious Also check.

Ruby was two for two today. Jaune would be proud.

Don't say it Ruby. Don't say it Ruby. Don't say it Ruby.

And then suddenly Yang was there and she felt much better.

"Hey guys, sorry to DROP in you like this!" She said upon her entrance, grinning all the while at the pub she made.

And suddenly Ruby didn't feel so glad to see her big sister.

Imagine that.

* * *

Credit to Coeur Al' Aran for the aura awakening phrase. If you haven't read his stuff, you should check it out. They're all super good.


	4. Chapter 4

Every time that Jaune and Ruby had sparred, he had told her that if she wasn't sure what to do she fell, or when she wasn't sure that she could take a hit, that she needed to scatter and take a step back to regain her bearings.

Every. Single. Time.

So that's what she did, scattering into rose petals and shifting up into the air, to gain a better idea of what her and Yang and possibly Sun were working with.

She hoped that he could fight otherwise this would be a bit harder than it needed to be. Jaune had mentioned before that he wanted to start her on 'Semblance Reflex' training in addition to the strength training and the semblance she was already doing. She had blanched at the time, but she had really wish that she had started that now.

"Hey Little Red!" Roman greeted, sweeping his hand in a dramatic gesture. "I see you brought Curious George and Goldilocks with you this time! That's fantastic! You see…I brought some friends as well!" He continued, gesturing to the army of Faunus that were staring at them.

Dummy. Like Ruby couldn't see them.

She wanted to fight. She wanted to show everyone here that Ruby Rose was not to be trifled with! She wanted Roman to know that.

She wanted Yang to know that.

But this wasn't the time for that. She already knew she couldn't handle Roman when he was by himself and now he had an army that actually knew what they were doing.

It galled her, but they needed to leave.

"Yang! Sun! We have to get out of here!" She called out once she solidified back into her normal form, reappearing on the rafters of the building they were in.

It looked like a storage facility of some kind. Ruby wasn't too big on details like that, but it seemed like something Jaune would want to know she did her best to study it.

Gray. Gray. White. Gray. Ugh! Details like that were boring! Why couldn't she have an easy job like studying their weapons?! That would be fun.

Focus Ruby.

"Leave? Why would we do that?" Yang yelled out, arming herself with Ember Cellica and adopting a fighting stance, Sun matching her while whipping out…were those GUN CHUCKS!?

Focus Ruby.

"Yeah, why would you do that? It's just me and a bunch of mutts," Roman echoed, pulling out his cane and eyeing the rafters, trying to shoot her down. Like Ruby would let that happen, she would constantly dart from rafter to rafter, not staying in one place long enough for him to focus. He wouldn't be able to focus on both her, AND Yang and Sun. "Come on Red! I'll even let you keep one! I promise they've all had their shots! Might still need some potty training though…" He trailed off, laughing to himself.

"Are you guys seriously going to just take that?" Sun asked the faunus, hackles raising as they stared silently at them, but said nothing. He scoffed at that. "Yeah, that's what I thought. You guys are nuts."

Yang turned to where she thought Ruby was. "Ruby we can take these guys, they won't even fight! It'll be quick!"

The grunts weren't the problem. Torchwick was.

She didn't think that they could handle Torchwick. And they've never fought with Sun so they were bound to get in each other's way. But how could she tell Yang that without alerting everyone?

She couldn't. So, she had no choice but to throw herself all in. And so she did, hoping that Roman still hadn't been able to track as she lined up a shot. She could fire one off so quickly that…

Danger.

A pin prickle of…something nudged the edge of her senses and she ducked. Not quickly enough to avoid a few strands of her being removed from her body. She quickly hopped back and traced the trajectory of the…parasol? Was she seeing that right?

She looked backwards to see where it had come from and saw nothing. It was just her up here…but that couldn't be true. She knew for a fact that someone had swung at her. She could hear Yang and Sun fighting together against Roman below her but she couldn't afford to think about them right now.

And besides if whoever was up here was focused on her, it gave them a better chance. She could dodge and move faster than Yang could. Sun too, come to think of it.

She quickly petaled away to a new rafter, to try to confuse her opponents, and to gain her bearings.

Which was why the boot to her face came to a complete and total surprise. Too shocked to petal away Ruby skidded to a halt, narrowly avoiding falling off the rafter. She eyed the woman in front of her, hand on her face as the woman mimed laughing at her.

The lady was short. Shorter than Ruby even, wearing a white tailed jacket with a pink interior. She wore black gloves, and black and white boots over brown pants. Her jacket was open, revealing a brown corset, curved in the middle and at the bottom, showing bare fleshy hips. She was also wearing a bunch of beaded necklaces, slung around her neck haphazardly.

"What the-Who are you?!" Ruby asked, shifting Crescent Rose into its bladed form. The girl merely winked at her and opened her parasol and twirled it, before shutting it back.

This girl was clearly mocking her. Ruby needed to fix that. She used her semblance to spin around the girl, trying to build up momentum for a good swing. Jaune had been working with her so she didn't need to do that, but she wasn't there yet.

Ruby rematerialized behind the girl and let gravity do the rest, swinging her scythe down with all the strength she could muster. Which was a lot considering she had momentum and gravity on her side.

Alas, it was for nothing, for the girl merely twirled out of the way, her parasol coming up as she twirled, smacking Ruby in the face. Ruby took the blow, growling as she landed on the beam and spun herself, trying to bisect the girl with a horizontal swing.

She'd be fine. She had aura. But she stood there, grinning at Ruby as her scythe inched closer to her. And then suddenly there was a flash of light and Ruby was blasted backwards.

"What ju-" But she was given no reprieve as the mystery girl suddenly decided to mount an offense.

She danced around Ruby, who swung downwards, trying to get one complete swing in. If she could just do that, then she could keep the swings going and it would give her some breathing room!

The woman wasn't having it though, she merely dodged the first swing, stepping inside of her guard and grabbing Crescent Rose, she used it as a spring board, her boots lashing out and smacking Ruby in the face.

Ruby used the force from the girl's kick to use her semblance, turning into petals and flowing away from her at breakneck speed. She made an arc in the air, before launching herself at the girl, still in petal form.

But rather than try to avoid Ruby, she stepped forward, reopening her parasol and thrusting it forward, where Ruby crashed into it.

That forced Ruby to solidify and then the woman stepped into the meager guard she tried to put up and began to pepper her with blows. A kick here, an elbow there. Ruby couldn't have put a stop to her assault so she had no choice but to weather the blows.

She could feel her aura draining at a steady pace and became desperate. She hopped back, trying to shift into petals to get away from this woman but she thrust out with her now closed parasol, impaling her in the gut making her release an oomph of surprise as she lost her footing and fell off of the rafters.

* * *

"So, you're Red's sister? Not going to lie, I don't see the resemblance,"

"Less talking, more pounding!" Yang growled, jabbing at the unfortunate men and women that happened to be standing between her and Torchwick.

All...however many there were. Any she missed tried opening fire on her, which she felt, but did little to stop her rampage.

It only added to it in fact. By the time she had reached the center where Torchwick stood, her semblance had activated. The fact that Ruby hadn't come down and hadn't said was telling. She needed to end this fast.

She reached Roman with her fist raised in a jab that would've torn his head off.

If it had connected. He sidestepped with a little hop and his cane cane up in the same movement and smacked her in the chin.

"Didn't anyone ever teach you that it's rude to attack your elders like that? The nerve of some people. You got a light?" He asked, using his other hand to fish out a cigar.

"Never mind." He said sticking the cigar out, towards her HAIR and bringing it back, lit. "Thanks Goldilocks. Preciate you." He said, winking at her.

Yang saw red. Literally and figuratively. She screamed, trying her best to remove Roman's head from the rest of his body.

But no matter what she tried, he would simply move out of the way just enough for her to miss, and then he would counter attack with his cane. She had even started adding shotgun rounds to her attacks but that simply made him give her a wider berth, still dodging her attacks with ease.

And start using the guns that he himself had on him. His cane rose to her eye level and something bright and flashy shot out directly in her eyes, blinding her for a moment and taking a significant chunk of her with it.

She yelled out in pain, but while blinded couldn't exactly defend herself, which left many openings for Torchwick to exploit. Which he did. Gleefully.

That monkey boy, whatever his name was joined in the fray at this point and then they discovered an altogether different problem that they were unsure of how to tackle.

Yang and him kept getting in each other's way. If it wasn't Yang getting in the way of a perfect shot or stepping into the line of one of his gun chucks, it was him ruining the perfect set up for an attack or being too close for her to let loose with Ember Celica.

He was doing this on purpose. She was sure of it. He knew it too, smug bastard.

"Hey…" the Faunus tried to say but she ignored it in favor of trying to score a blow on Torchwick. If she could just get one freaking blow…she could finish this!

"You're just going to ignore your sister falling like that?" Torchwick whistled. "That's harsh Goldilocks."

Wait. What?

Yang backed up in case it was a trick and looked up. Sure enough, Ruby was falling straight down, making no attempt to catch herself, or do anything about it really.

And even worse, Yang could see the tell tale signs that her aura had been depleted, the aura particles falling off the girl in in waves.

That meant she would take actual damage from the fall.

Yang shot one more look at Torchwick who blew a kiss at her. "Chop chop,". He said, motioning to Ruby.

Yang hated to do what he said, but Ruby came first. She dove for the girl, having spent too much distance to cover and not enough time to hoof it. She caught Ruby and took the brunt of the fall, her aura absorbing the blow.

Where did Ruby even come from?

She looked up, only to lock gazes with...a dual colored huntress? One half of her was pink, and the other half of her was brown. That didn't matter as Yang debated trying to pound her face.

The girl must've known where her thoughts were headed as she smirked at her and made a come hither gesture.

"Yang, don't." Ruby warned, grabbing her clenched fist and holding it back. "We need to leave. We can't handle this."

"Finally! Some sense Red! Although to be fair, I've already moved the forces while we were having our scraps. This is Neo by the way," He said as the girl seemingly materialized next to him. "Say hi Neo."

She gave them a 'cheery' wave and then a mocking bow. Jerk. Yang could see now that he mentioned it that all of the faunus that had been in the building with them were gone. And she meant all of them.

Even the faunus that had been fighting with them had left.

"Well ladies, it's been fun, but we've got to skedaddle. You know how it is right? Ta Ta!" And with that, Neo did...something and they were gone.

Yang had never been defeated so...soundly before.

She wasn't going to lie. She wasn't a fan.

* * *

Jaune led Blake deep into the industrial district of Vale. The building he stopped at was an old one, with arched windows. The entrance was a large automatic door that immediately opened as they got closer.

Inside was a dance floor surrounded by six crystalline pillars with the DJ's booth on the opposite side of some stairs. There were several balconies along the walls overlooking the dance floor. And above the floor was a rotating ring of light.

"Did you bring me here to dance?" Blake asked, giving Jaune a strange look. He ignored her though, walking straight up to the bar and asking for Junior.

The girl manning the bar, a girl that looked around seventeen or eighteen, gave Jaune and Blake a once over. She had short black hair cut in a page boy style with her bangs going down past her ears. She had pale green eyes highlighted with heavy red make up. And she was wearing a red strapless dress...made out of...newspaper?

That couldn't be right.

She also had large red and white feathers sticking out from her right ear, Jaune assumed from an earing or something like that. This was Miltia, one of Junior's bodyguards.

But not who Jaune came for.

"I need to see Junior. I won't ask again." He said, tone flat, even as he felt Blake behind him tensing in response to the look that Miltia gave him. He rose his eyebrow in challenge, daring her to do something.

She must have seen something in his face that she didn't like, for she went back into the kitchen, and after some time passed, Junior came out.

Junior was a tall man, especially for someone with the name Junior. He was wearing a black vest over a white dress shirt, a red tie, along with black gloves and black dress pants. He had close shaved black hair along with a beard and a mustache. His eyes couldn't be seen over the red sunglasses that he was wearing.

He groaned upon walking out and spotting Jaune and Blake. "Not another blonde huntsmen in training! We JUST recovered from the last one!"

"The last one? What did they look like?" Jaune was just here for information about the White Fang, and to introduce Blake to Junior, but extra information was always helpful.

Junior growled, remembering something that he found unpleasant. "Your age, maybe comes up to your chest, brown clothing, yellow gauntlets...hard to put down."

Blake and Jaune shared a look. "That sounded like Yang.

"I think I know her," Jaune said, making a show of looking around the bar, "Do you happen to know what she was looking for?"

"She was looking for Raven Branwen. Which is beyond foolish. No one messes with that woman. No way was I giving information out on her! Which she handled quite poorly."

Raven Branwen. Good to know. Now to soothe some ruffled feathers and to get what he came for. "I'll bet. Tell you what, I'll report her to the headmaster for you, and I promise you she'll get punished."

"Yeah?"

He nodded, "To the fullest extent Beacon allows."

"Hmm...Good. And what can I do for you two? You're both too young to be drinking,"

"I'm only here to introduce you to Belle here."

"You're here to do what now?" 'Belle' asked, wiping an errant hair out of her face, walking around Jaune to face him directly.

Jaune ignored her. "You're an information broker right? We're here to trade information."

Junior's stance relaxed some as they went into territory he was more familiar with. "Oh yeah, and what are you offering? My information isn't free."

"How about intimate knowledge of the White Fang? How they structure their forces, bolt holes and anything else we can think of?"

"I can't offer that!" Blake hissed, pulling him back out of Junior's hearing range. "They'll kill me!"

Jaune looked at her like she was an idiot. "And that's different from them hunting you down now...how exactly?"

At that, Blake looked down and Jaune put a hand on her shoulder. "Relax Blake. I know what I'm doing. You won't come to any harm. And when the White Fang comes after you…"

"I'll protect you."

And at Blake's shocked silence he turned back to Junior to finish the conversation that they had started.

"Like I said, this is Belle," Gesturing to the shell-shocked faunus standing behind him, "And from now on, if I have any questions that I would like to ask, or information to trade, she'll be here to meet you. And likewise, if you want to reach ME, find Belle."

Junior took off his shades, giving Jaune an appraising look. "And what exactly are you after, Mr…?" He trailed off, trying to get a name.

"You can call me...Arthur," Jaune said, a small smile on his lips. "And what I want from you is simple…"

* * *

Jaune cornered Yang as soon as he found a free moment sans Ruby. He waved her down the hall, catching her attention.

"Hey Yang, do you have a moment?" He asked, getting a look from her, before she sighed.

"I don't really have a choice here, do I?"

"Not really no." Jaune admitted, leading her into an empty classroom that he had staked out and shifted things to his liking earlier.

Ruby and Blake required softer hands to get his point across.

Yang was a big girl and she would be treated as such.

"You really screwed up today you know."

"Don't you think I know that!" She yelled at him, her eyes still lilac.

"And do you know why?" Jaune asked, refusing to be cowed by the girl.

She sighed, but ground out. "I was so worried about Ruby and overconfident that we could beat Torchwick and whoever that girl was. I got angry and then…"

"You got sloppy." Jaune finished for, taking the wind out of her sails.

"Yeah, basically."

A not so awkward silence ensued as they stood in front of each other.

"You don't have to worry so much about Ruby you know? I'm working hard, and she's working hard to ensure that she can take care of herself,"

Jaune was surprised when Yang shook her head at that. "You don't get it Jaune. Ruby could be the strongest person I know, and I'd still worry about her,"

"You're right. I guess I wouldn't understand that…" Jaune said, voice growing flat. Yang quickly realized how her words could have been taken and tried to backtrack.

"I'm-sor-"

"Who is Raven?"

Yang stopped, hands reached out to, Jaune guess placate him or something. She literally just stopped.

It was eerie.

"Where did you hear that name?"

"A little birdy told me. Now, who is she?"

Yang laughed at that. "Who is she? That's a damn good question Jaune. I'll let you know when I figure it out."

"Wait. You don't know?"

That was surprising. Then again you didn't need to know someone to search for them.

"Raven is...my mom. In theory."

"In theory?"

Yang hummed, confirming his question. "She left practically as soon as I was born, and I've always wondered why. Why did she leave? Weren't we good enough? Wasn't I good enough? I just need to find her and get some answers you know?"

That made sense. How to respond…

"How does that translate into being a huntress?"

Come on Yang, give me something to work with here. A cause, a goal, anything.

A shrug. "I'm a thrill seeker. I want to travel all around the world and get wrapped up in as many crazy adventures as I can. And if I happen to help some people along the way, that's even better. It's a win win you know?"

This was something he could use.

"And eventually if you search hard enough…"

"I'll find Raven". Yang finished, nodding.

Jaune pauses for a second, rolling the words over in his mind before he voiced them. "Have you considered changing your approach?"

Yang's face said that she hadn't, so Jaune continued. "When you can't beat the odds, change the game. What have you been told about her? I know you've asked your dad once or twice."

Yang crossed her arms, lost in thought. "He said..he said that she was stubborn. And values strength above all else. There was nothing more important to her than being strong."

"And so strong you became."

"I did." Yang confirmed, a proud smile on her face.

How best to put this…

"Not strong enough though."

Nailed it.

"Want to run that by me again?" Yang's voice was low. Dangerously low. He needed to tread carefully here.

He lounged back, cool as could be. "Well, you lost. And worse than that, you almost let Ruby get hurt, because you were angry. You lost control."

He needed to speak quickly before she attacked him.

"We don't need you angry Yang. We need you righteous. We need all of Yang. Not just angry Yang. Can you do that for me? For JRBY? For Ruby?"

She paused, taking in his words. Okay this was working. Now to reel her in.

"I'm not saying stop looking, don't get me wrong I'm not saying that at all! I'm just saying that you should shift your focus a bit. She's not going anywhere after all. And from what rumors I've heard, Raven is strong. Like scary strong. Wouldn't you prefer to be able to over power her to get your answers?" He stopped to take a breath. "It might be the only way to get your answers."

He held out his hand, waiting for Yang to grasp it. "Work with me Yang. Work with us. I promise we won't let you down."

Yang closed her eyes, clearly thinking things through. "I thought you didn't know anything about my mom."

Jaune felt a sick sensation pooling in his gut. Did he slip up? How to fix this?

But she eventually let out a laugh and grasped his hand, gripping it strongly. "You talk a good game though! Hope you can back it up Mr. Leader. Count me in!"

Jaune grinned back at her, happy that he had everyone on board with his plans. "I'm glad you feel that," he said with a sinister grin on his face.

"Training begins tomorrow after class. Don't be late."

* * *

Ruby, Yang, and Blake met with Jaune after class so he could go over his current plans for each of them. Instead of doing it separately, he figured that it would be better for them to go over it all at once.

That way they were all on the same page.

Everyone settled into the abandoned classroom that was starting to become their haunt.

"Is everyone here?" Jaune asked once they were settled.

"Well duh...do you see anyone missing?" Yang replies, dodging the answering swat from her sister, catching the arm and pulling her into a hug.

"Hack! Too tight!"

"What? Harder you say?"

Jaune ignored the by play, as did Blake and started the meat of the topics that they were getting into.

"Alright, JRBY! First order of business is semblances. I have a plan for each of us but it's only fair that I start. My semblance is Amp. Using a small amount of my aura, I can amplify the strength of other people's auras. I can also amplify my aura and increase my strength, speed, healing factor...basically anything aura can do. The only downside is that my body has to be strong enough to handle how much I amplify my aura, hence why I'm always training."

He made a fist, that quickly started flowing white with his aura. "The stronger I am, the more of my aura I can amplify, and the stronger I become. Got it?"

"That's a pretty terrifying semblance,"

"If by terrifying you mean amazing, I totally agree!"

"I wonder what my semblance boosted would be like…"

"Alright. Here's what I'm eventually aiming and hoping for in regards to us. Blake." He started, catching her attention. "I know your semblance is clones and you typically use them to take blows for you. Is that right?"

She nodded. "My semblance is shadow. I use it to make semi solid clones to take blows for me instead of taking them myself. They usually disintegrate after one hit." She chuckled ruefully. "You could say that I use them to help me run away,"

"Nothing wrong with that kitty cat,". Yang told her, rubbing her shoulder. She had taken the reveal that Blake was a Faunus rather naturally. The only thing that she had done was start up with the kitty cat nickname and all the jokes.

Blake wasn't sure if she would have preferred scorn. Ruby hadn't appeared to have cared one way or another that she was a Faunus or not. She did say that Blake looked much better without the bow.

"My semblance is called Ignite. Any and all damage I take gets converted into energy, that I can use to deal more damage. It doesn't stop me from feeling the blows and damage though."

"Oh! Me next! Me next!" Ruby said, hand raised up from within Yang's arms.

Blake raised a brow, "You do know that you're the only one left right?"

Ruby undeterred by the facts, kept going. "My semblance is Petal Burst! It lets me dash off in any direction I want to at super speed! Also I can turn into rose petals to move even faster! All of that costs aura though so I'm working on building up my aura."

Jaune nodded as they all shared their semblances. This was exactly what he wanted to happen when he decided to do this together rather than separately.

He cleared his throat before picking up where he had left off. "As I was saying, Blake, you say that your shadows can take a hit. What I want to do is to reverse that."

Confused silence.

"Explain."

"Rather than use them to take blows for you, I want you to work on using your semblance to attack, say you come at someone in the front and then right next to you, another Blake is attacking as well. Which one to block or dodge? Can it be dodged? Can I take two hits when I was expecting one? Ideally I would want you to have two clones on the offensive with you for each stroke but we'll probably have to build up your aura and endurance before we get that far. Do you think you can do that?"

"I mean...I should. I just never thought of it. It's a pretty good idea though…". She stated, lost in thought of how she would make it work.

Jaune nodded and then turned to Yang. "You said that you convert the damage into energy that you use to enhance your attacks. Is that all you can convert the energy into? Can you boost your healing, or your defense or even use the energy to refuel your aura?"

Yang opened her mouth to answer, and then closed it as she considered. "You know Mr. Leader, me and dad never thought about trying anything like that. I'll get right on that and get back to you though!"

Jaune nodded, that was the best that he could hope for now. And finally…"Ruby."

"Yes sir!"

"What I want to work on with your semblance is the speed you activate it. Specifically the petal burst part. Like Blake uses her shadows now, that's how I want you to use your bursts. I want nothing to touch you unless you let it. Work with Blake to learn how to anticipate blows and what exactly she did to get so good at it. Other than that, same things we've been working on."

He then stood up, addressing everyone again. "Physical training before class ladies, and semblance training afterwards. Before the end of the year I want every one of us to be able to defeat Pyrrha Nikos. Easily. Any questions?"

The girls all stared at him, then each other, before Blake rose her hand.

"Didn't you have a duel to go have with Weiss?"

Jaune shrugged.

"This was more important. Also, she never exactly set a date, so...not really?"


	5. Chapter 5

Jaune shook his head. Hard. As if he were trying to dispel his thoughts. As if that could get rid of the voices.

Now was not the time for such things. Now wasn't the time for such weakness. He couldn't be weak. He wasn't allowed to be weak. He had to keep fighting. He had to keep fighting. If he stopped fighting, what was he good for? That was his worth. As long as he could stand, as long as his arms could hold his blade, he would keep fighting. Injuries meant nothing as long as he could keep fighting. He had to keep fighting. He had to keep fighting for _them_.

_Avenge us._

Jaune's eyes fell as his lips twisted slightly, feeling a cold shiver run down his back. .

_Find them, torture them, exterrminate them._

Jaune closed his eyes, taking a heavy inhale as his hands turned to fists. The dead, they want to be avenged. They needed it. They wish the same agony they had to suffer be inflicted before they would be silenced.

_Seek revenge_

"Jaune?"

The boy finally exhaled, Ruby's voice luring him back into reality. Schooling his features into calm as fast as he could, he turned to see her, noticing how her eyes were running over, to ascertain his condition. "I'm sorry, did you need me for something?"

He blinked when Ruby's finger poked him between the eyes, making some wrinkles fade.

"I don't like when you make that face…" She muttered, her hand going back to the maps as her attention stayed on her partner.

"Ah...I see," He offered a sheepish smile, although it wouldn't reach his eyes, so he closed them. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

He was alive. That was better than any other Arc could boast. And with that thought, came the terrifying memories and images that always accompanied. Faces he could never forget flashed across his vision. Those faces never ceased haunting him.

Ruby knew his smile was genuine, but his words and eyes were not. Even now, she could see gleams of..something in his eyes. Whenever he would open them that is.

She knew that Jaune was not fine, but could she afford to bring that up? Was that her place? If not her, then who?

"Jaune?"

She waited, until he was actually looking at her. "Can I hug you?" She asked, her tone as sweet as could be.

Jaune stared at her silently for what felt like forever, making her feel slightly self conscious for her request. He nodded, trying his best to forget the image of his father's empty stare as his head fell to the ground. He mechanically opened his arms, only to let out a small grunt as Ruby barrelled into him.

"Can I really do this?" Jaune breathed, so quietly that Ruby wasn't even sure that he had said anything. His eyes were darting around, trying to meet all of the empty stares directed at him.

Ruby felt him trembling, raising her head to try to see what Jaune was looking at. His face was paler than usual, and his pupils were shrinking.

"Nope."

He bit his lip. He knew that. He was afraid of that. He couldn't do it. He deserved whatever punishments they would give him for surviving-

"We can do it though. You're not alone Jaune. I will keep you safe. Our team needs us," she said, making sure that he could see her eyes, and hear what she was saying.

"Do...you see them?" He dared to ask.

She shook her head no, wondering what he was seeing. She wished that he would tell her. "I see you though," She whispered.

He sniffed, feeling warm at her response. "See me?" He asked, almost breathless, as a few tears finally started to flow, but he didn't sob, he smiled instead.

"Always, my friend." She promised.

"My friend…" He repeated as his arms let go of her, in order to wipe his eyes, although his smile remained. When he stepped back from her, Ruby was pleased to see that the smile he was giving her did reach his eyes this time.

That night was the first night that Jaune slept peacefully.

* * *

Jaune stared stoically at his opponent as he leered at him. He had managed to avoid being called on for combat class so far, but it appeared that his number was up. Fortunately, he wasn't facing anyone to tough.

Despite what his opponent thought.

Cardin Winchester had burnt orange hair that was combed back with a slight peak at the front. He wore standard silver gray armor, with a gold trim. He held his mace over his shoulder, still leering at Jaune in a possible attempt to intimidate him.

Amateur.

"Are the two of you ready?" Glynda Goodwitch asked, receiving nods of acknowledgement from both of the fighters as their aura levels showed up on the screen behind them. At their nods, she set up the barrier that would keep any stray attacks from hitting the audience and let them begin.

"Hope you're ready to eat the dirt Jauney Boy!" Cardin roared as he leapt at Jaune, hoping to score a blow as he swung his mace at Jaune with a sideways blow.

That was smart. It would make it more difficult for Jaune to knock his mace out of his grip if Jaune could manage it. But that wasn't Jaune's aim at this point in time. By the time Cardin charged at Jaune, swinging his mace, Jaune's shield was already moving in place to meet it.

The edge of Jaune's shield met Cardin's mace and Jaune tilted his shield, catching the mace, and moving it aside as Jaune's blade swung out in the same motion. Cardin, unable to stop his attack, without releasing his mace, which he refused to do, had no choice but to take the attack, in this case, a probing slash that chipped at his aura. Cardin completed his charge and whirled around to face Jaune immediately, a frown on his face.

Jaune could see his opponent reevaluating him as he started circling Jaune, probing him for weaknesses. As his weapon was a mace, Jaune expected him to mostly aim for his shoulders or hips more than any other area.

And on the off chance he missed those areas, it would probably hit somewhere else, thereby chipping at his aura.

Jaune adjusted his stance, holding his shield at a forward angle to the left side of his body as his other hand held his sword at the ready.

"You're better than I thought Jauney boy!" Cardin goaded as he continued to circle Jaune, looking for an opening. Not that he would find one. And to stop the boy from circling, Jaune would have to go on the attack.

The next time Cardin was in front of him, Jaune swept his shield out in a bashing motion at Cardin's chest, forcing Cardin to either meet his bash with his mace, or avoid it altogether. And since Cardin wasn't fast enough to dodge Jaune even if he hadn't been surprised by the move, he was left with no choice but to block with his mace.

Which is what Jaune wanted. As soon as the mace met Jaune's shield, Jaune pushed against it at an angle, forcing Cardin to ground himself as he tried to match Jaune's strength. With Cardin forced to either remain there or drop his weapon, Jaune used his sword to slash at Cardin's legs, the only pieces of Cardin he could reach without compromising the binding position that he had forced Cardin into.

Cardin eventually grew tired of all the free hits Jaune was scoring and his mace exploded, catching Jaune completely by surprise. That gave Cardin the chance to back away and grounds to try again, if Jaune would let him.

Like Jaune would let him. This time he ran forward, pulling on his sword for a thrust, watching as Cardin quickly backpedaled, trying to avoid the thrust that he was sure was coming. When Jaune was close enough, he dropped his sword and his shield swung upwards, the tip of his shield bashing Cardin on the chin, making his teeth rattle. Jaune continued the motion, tackling the boy and straddling him before he could get his wits together. Using his shield to pin Cardin's body in place, Jaune used his other one to punch him in the areas that weren't covered by the shield; namely his face.

Jaune only punched him three times before he looked down at Cardin. "Do you yield?" He asked flatly. "Your aura can still take some damage," He noted, checking that Cardin's aura was a yellow forty three percent, "And I don't mind bashing on you but…"

Before Cardin could answer, Glynda interfered. "And that is enough! Jaune Arc is the winner!"

Jaune stood up, making no move to help Cardin, instead going to retrieve his sword. Cardin pulled himself up, growling to himself. He glanced at the board, seeing himself at forty three, and Jaune at eighty seven. He snarled.

He needed to do better.

"Mr. Winchester. I would suggest being more mindful of what your opponents have at their disposal. You saw a shield and assumed that Mr. Arc would only be blocking with it, and that is a dangerous mistake to make. We are Huntsmen and Huntresses. Everything and Anything can be a weapon and you need to treat them as such."

Cardin scoffed, but said nothing, for she wasn't wrong. And then she turned to Jaune. "I don't have much to say Mr. Arc only you played defensively for far too long. I see no reason why you couldn't have opened with any of the moves you eventually used,"

At Jaune's sharp nod, she dismissed them both. Jaune quickly walked back to his seat, only to have his arm snatched by his partner.

"Jaune that was awesome! You totally kicked his butt!"

Yang gave Jaune a punch to the shoulder as she grinned. "That was a mismatch if I ever saw one! Goodwitch should have put you up against me or Pyrrha! That would be something!" She grinned viciously as Jaune hummed in acknowledgement.

"Good job." Blake threw in her two sense. A lady of few words that one. In public anyway

He wouldn't have them any other way.

* * *

There was someone waiting for them when they got out of class that day. A familiar someone.

"Sup?" Sun greeted, with a blue haired companion with him. "Been a long time Red? And who's this lovely lady?" He asked, winking at Blake, ignoring his friend face palming and the weird looks he was getting from Ruby.

"Sun!" She yelled. "What are you doing here?!" She asked at the same time as Yang growled, "You have a lot of nerve showing your face after ditching us, monkey boy."

Sun shrugged, not sorry in the least. "Hey, we weren't friends, and I DID fight with you. I just didn't stay for the finale. Plus you were chasing me. Can't we let bygones be bygones?"

His blue haired companion smacked him. "Ugh, you always do this!" He turned to the four and bowed, "I apologize for any trouble my partner caused you. Please forgive him."

"And you are?" Jaune asked, stepping forward. Yang was quick to forgive, but he didn't want her to milk this. Sun seemed the type to go on and on and those two together would be a pain.

"Oh! Where are my manners! My name is Neptune. Neptune Vasillas. We're here for the Vytal Festival."

"It's pretty early for that, isn't it?"

Neptune nodded. "Yeah. Some teams are coming earlier to make sure that we're not all bogged down with travel. It keeps everything running smoothly."

Jaune nodded. That made sense. "So...does that mean you actually weren't a stowaway?"

"Oh I was! I totally wasn't supposed to be there yet. No regrets!"

"We still have to bring you in Sun!" Ruby decided, preparing to tackle him. Sun grinned and got ready as well. "You'll never take me alive copper!" With his piece said, he turned and bolted down the hall.

"Ruby, don't let him get away!" Yang yelled, as Ruby darted after the faunus, with her close behind, leaving three bemused students.

"Does...that happen often?" Neptune asked.

"More often than I'd like." Jaune admitted.

"You guys have your own separate dorms that you should be staying at." Blake said, coming up to stand next to Jaune. "Do you know where they are?"

"Yeah, Sun just really wanted to see you guys...or to see them I guess. With that done, I guess I'll see you later." He said as he strolled off, hands in his pockets.

"I don't like him," Blake said as soon as he was out of earshot.

"Him or Sun?"

"Both."

Jaune hummed as he started walking, Blake falling in step readily. "Yeah, they're...quite the characters, but they're not the ones that we're looking for."

"And who ARE we looking for?"

"Junior wouldn't say. He just said that I'd know them when I saw…" Jaune stopped mid sentence and Blake followed his line of sight to see what he was staring at.

It was a group of three people, although Jaune was staring at the male. He was a pale, well built man around Jaune's age with gray eyes and grey hair. His hair was partially slicked back and quite unkempt at the front, giving him a 'I just rolled out of bed' look. He wore slate gray and black partial zip jacket and simple black pants.

"Is...there something wrong with that guy?" Blake asked cautiously.

Jaune stopped staring before they noticed him watching them, and nodded, resuming his walk and urging Blake to follow.

Jaune led them on a winding path, from the main building to the one where their dorms were stationed in. He quickly led them to the room that was quickly becoming their home away from home. Once the door was locked and secured, Jaune let out a sigh. "That guy looks just like Marcus Black."

A long pause.

"Should I know who that is?"

Jaune rolled his eyes, as he explained. "He was a skilled assassin for hire at one point. I tried to hire him...it didn't end well. But he looks just like him, which means he must be his son, or related in some other way."

"And?"

"The child of an assassin? There's a decent chance that there's nothing to him and he's just here as a student, but I don't believe in taking chances like that. We're going to have to get some information on him. And his team too. Even if it's nothing, that means we'll have information for the festival then."

"Is this something that we should tell Ruby and Yang?" Blake asked.

Jaune nodded. "Yeah. I don't want to keep any secrets if I can help it. We can frame it as while they investigate Sun's team, we'll do his. That way they won't give anything up. And with Weiss scouting teams so blatantly, no one will think twice about us doing it."

Blake's nose wrinkled at the mention of Weiss but she nodded. "Do you want me to go start tailing them?"

"Yes please. Be careful. I'm going to go visit Junior."

* * *

Jaune's scroll fell out of his pocket as he shoved it in there haphazardly. It bounced along the pavement, until coming to a stop at someone's feet. The girl picked up his scroll and handed it back to Jaune, extending her arms towards him. "Here, you dropped this."

"Penny?" Jaune asked, mildly surprised as he pocketed his scroll carefully this time.

"Uhhh…" Penny said nervously.

"Long time no see. How have you been?"

"I'm s-sorry. I think you're confused." She responded slowly, before hiccupping loudly. "Uh...I've got to go!" She turned on her heel and power walked away.

Jaune stared after her. "Now I can't just ignore that…"

"Are you sure you're alright Penny?" He asked as soon as he caught up to her.

"There seems to be a...misunderstanding." Penny tried, hiccuping again.

"Do you always hiccup when you lie?"

"No!"

Hiccup!

Jaune grabbed her arm as she tried to walk away again. "Penny, stop." At the simple command, she stopped. "I don't know what's going on, but are you sure you're okay? If you ask me to leave again I will, but I have to be sure."

She sighed, then checked the surroundings cautiously, searching for something. She leaned in close. "It isn't safe to talk here. Follow me."

She led him all the way to the commercial district of Vale, to the same cafe that Jaune had talked to Blake to in fact.

"And you're okay? No one is threatening you or anything?" Jaune asked again.

"Oh, no! Nothing like that?"

"Then what was with that whole 'you must be mistaken' nonsense?"

"My father asked me not to talk to...anyone really. You have to understand; my father loves me very much! He just worries a lot."

"That's...unusual." Jaune said.

Before Penny could answer, they heard the sound of megaphones announcing something. They left the cafe to see a platform in the center of a plaza where a holographic image of James Ironwood was seen standing before six androids, were in turn standing in front of two storage cases with the spear and shield emblem displayed proudly on them.

"The AK-130 has been a standard security model for several years, and they have done a fine job. Wouldn't you agree? Wouldn't you agree?" Ironwood asked the clapping audience as the androids took a jerky bow.

"But the kingdom of Atlas is a kingdom of innovation, and 'fine', Well, that's just not good enough is it? So with that in mind, I would like to present...the Atlesian Knight-200!" Ironwood announced as the doors opened up, revealing six new, bulkier shinier automatons standing at attention, before knocking down their predecessors to the applause of the audience.

"These models will become active later this year, but they won't be alone! Now, the Atlesian Military has always supported the idea of removing men from the dangers of the battlefield. However, there are still many situations that will undoubtedly require... a human touch." Ironwood says.

"Friend Jaune…?" Penny tried nervously as Jaune watched not the presentation, but Ironwood himself.

He continued speaking. "So our kingdom's greatest minds, in cooperation with the Schnee Dust company, are proud to introduce..the Atlesian Paladin!"

Ironwood's image is replaced with the hologram of a robotic white behemoth, featuring hinged piston legs, large guns for hands, and a rectangular head, standing at over twice as tall as the Knights below it.

"Now, we couldn't have him here for you today, but these mechanized battle suits will be seen defending the borders of our kingdom within the year!" Ironwood announced, without reappearing.

"Friend Jaune?" Penny tried again. "Maybe we should go somewhere else?"

Before Jaune could respond, two armored soldiers saw Penny, pointing her out and calling in backup. Penny saw them, backing away and breaking into a dead run, forcing Jaune to follow her

"I thought you said you weren't in trouble!" Jaune said, as he reached for his sword, giving Penny time to speed ahead of him while he did so. As they ran down the winding alley, the soldiers pursued them.

"Down here! She went this way!"

Jaune and Penny ran down the street followed by the soldiers. As the soldiers ran after them, one of them nearly got hit by a car that managed to slam the brakes on at the last moment. His partner ignored that and continued to follow Jaune and Penny.

Jaune was catching up to Penny, but noticed a stack of crates that was held up by a support that was begging to be cut. Jaune did so, causing the boxes to fall and block the path.

Seeing Penny ahead of him, Jaune muttered, "Amp five percent," And felt the familiar hum of his semblance activating around his body. He quickly kicked off against the wall, ricocheting off the walls to catch Penny. He grabbed her around her waist when he reached her.

Penny was heavier than he expected, and Jaune miscalculated his jump, causing him to land in the middle of the street while Penny bounced out of the street, landing on the pavement.

Unfortunately for Jaune, there was a truck coming at him at very high speeds. Jaune quickly stood up, trying to pull out his shield to hopefully take some of the impact of the truck about to hit him. When suddenly, Penny pushed him out of the way, holding her palms out.

Jaune's eyes widened, and he bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, his gaze never leaving the friend that he was sure that he had just gotten killed.

In the split second where the two make contact, the ground beneath Penny cracks and crumbles into pieces, and the truck is lifted a little ways into the air by the girl's sheer strength. She put it down gently, and the driver stares in awe at the crumples in his hood.

He had just gotten someone killed. A girl. A friend. He had killed a friend. He killed her. He wasn't supposed to do that. Jaune didn't kill friends, classmates. He wasn't like _that man_. He just wasn't like them. He wasn't like them.

"Are you okay?" Penny asked the driver, who slowly nodded.

Penny backed away, looking at Jaune's panicked expression, then at the bystanders talking to each other as they discussed what just happened. In her own increasing panic, she ran from the soldiers that had reappeared, and bumped into Jaune, knocking the boy out of his stupor as she tried to flee again.

"Penny? Come back!" Jaune said, running after her again as the citizens look at the destruction that Penny caused with her bare hands and the Atlas soldiers lost their target.

Soon enough, Penny came to a stop just outside of an alleyway, trying to gauge where she should run to next.

"Penny! You're alive!" Jaune said upon catching up to the girl. "Why did you do that? HOW did you do that? Why are they chasing you?

"I-I can't! Everything's fine! I-I don't want to talk about it!" Penny starts to hiccup with each lie.

"If you tell me, I can help you," Jaune tried .

"No!" She yelled, retreating. "No, no! You wouldn't understand…"

"You don't know that! You can trust me." Jaune urged

She finally stopped backing up, marching up to Jaune, studying his face desperately. "You're my friend right? You promise you're my friend?!"

"Of course." Jaune answered softly. "You risked your life for mine. I don't take that lightly."

"Jaune…" Penny was silent for a moment, looking down at her hands. "I'm not a real girl."

She showed Jaune her hands. Part of the skin on her palms had been ripped away, revealing grey metal underneath. She stared sadly at Jaune's face.

"I...don't understand."

"Most girls are born, but I was made." She explained. "I am the world's first synthetic person capable of generating an Aura." She turned her head to the side, not looking at Jaune. "I'm not real…"

Jaune grabbed her hand, taking it into his own. "That's nonsense. Just because you're made of metal instead of flesh doesn't make you any less real that I am." Jaune reassured her.

"I don't...um…" Penny responded, confused, before leaning in close to Jaune's face. "You're taking this...extraordinarily well."

"You're not like those androids we saw back there." He squeezed her hand. "You've got a heart and soul. You wouldn't have aura otherwise."

"Oooo...oh Jaune!" Penny said excitedly as she grabbed Jaune into a hug and shook him back and forth. "You're the best friend anyone could have!"

"I can see why your father would want to protect you!" Jaune laughed as he was shook around.

She finally released Jaune, back to her normal happy self. "Oh, he's very sweet! My father's the one that built me! I'm sure you would love him!"

"Whoa. He built you all by himself?"

"Well, almost! He had some help from Mr. Ironwood." She admitted

"Ironwood? Wait... Is that why those soldiers were after you?" Jaune asked.

"They like to protect me, too!" Penny answered.

Jaune scoffs. "They don't think you can protect yourself?"

"They're not sure if I'm ready yet." Penny says. "One day, it will be my job to save the world, but I still have a lot left to learn."

"Save the world?" Jaune asked, as his heart rate quickened. "Save it from what?"

"That's why my father let me come to the Vytal Festival. I want to see what it's like in the rest of the world, and test myself in the Tournament." Penny continued, ignoring his question.

"Penny. Save the world from what?" Jaune tried again.

Before she could respond, a voice shouted down the alley. "Check down here!"

Penny grabbed Jaune's shoulders. "You have to hide!" She then lifted Jaune effortlessly.

"Penny, wait! What? You don't have to leave! I can help!" Jaune struggled as Penny carried him towards a dumpster.

Penny threw Jaune in the trash and lifted the lid so that she could talk. "It's okay Jaune. They're not bad people; I just don't want to get you in trouble. Just promise me you won't tell anyone else my secret. Okay?" She stared at Jaune.

"I promise."

Jaune lowered the lid of the dumpster, listening to the scene outside.

"There she is!"

"Salutations, officers!"

"Why were you running? And what happened to the boy?" The soldier asks.

"What boy? I've been by myself all day!" Penny said, then hiccuped loudly.

"You shouldn't cause such a scene."

"Are you okay?"

"Just a scratch."

Jaune smiled as he listened to the conversation, glad that everything was fine.

"Penny, your father isn't going to be happy about this."

"Please, just come with us."

"Yes, sir!"

And with that, they left, leaving Jaune in the dumpster. "She said that she was here to save the world...but from what? Could...there be others that know about that man? I need to know more."

Decision made, Jaune climbed out of the dumpster. He would have to go see Junior another time. Hopefully none of the girls had returned to the dorm yet. He didn't want to explain why he smelled like garbage.

* * *

Tried to think of something clever to say, but just like in real life...I got nothing. Disclaimer in case we're still supposed to do that, I don't own RWBY. If I did...things would be different! Different I say!


	6. Chapter 6

She had been following them for a while now, but this was the first time they had left the dorms. That she was aware of. Blake watched silently as the green haired warrior helped the old man from 'Dust till Dawn' up after he stumbled from the ladder.

The ladder that the girl herself kicked. She apologized to the shopkeeper and asked for directions, producing a paper with writing on that she handed over. It was too far away for her to read without revealing herself, but they were close enough for Blake to hear directions to Tukson's Book shop.

She loved that place. What on earth could she want with him? Blake had originally thought that Jaune was being paranoid in regards to this team for whatever reason, but now she wasn't so sure.

She continued to follow her as she turned the corner and met with the assassin's son, whose name she did not know.

"I knew you were lost." He shot at her as soon as she passed.

"Mercury, I will pay you to shut up." The girl said, producing a wallet and waving it in the now named Mercury's face.

"That's not your money." He pointed out.

It wasn't! So not only was this team carrying an assassin, but also a thief?

Terrific.

"But it can be yours for five minutes of silence." She tried to bribe him. When her attempt failed, she took the money out and tossed the wallet.

"Ugh…this place is so dull," Mercury complained.

"I kind of like it." The girl said, "Tall buildings, diverse culture…"

"And nice dopey people to fleece?" Mercury asked her.

She stopped dead at that. "That's every city."

"Ooh, Emerald! Master thief!" Mercury began playfully acting out as a victim. "Please don't take my money! I have three kids!"

The girl, Emerald, glared at him, groaning in frustration before walking away.

"Ugh, someone's no fun today." He sighed before following.

The two soon reached Tukson Book Trade and entered it. Blake snuck in right behind them, which wasn't difficult, considering how widely Mercury opened the door. This was her domain, so she quickly made herself scarce, leaping atop one of the higher columned bookshelves and perching there, giving herself a good view for what was happening. She could hear Tukson humming a tune in the back room. Mercury quickly began to browse the store while Emerald marched up to the front and rang a service bell.

"Be right there!"

And then Tukson emerged from the back room's double doors carrying stacks of books as he walked backwards towards the counter. "Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun!" He set the stack down. "How may I…" He turned around and paused after seeing Mercury and Emerald. "How may I help you?"

"Just browsing," Mercury responded as he shut the book he was skimming a tad too harshly in Blake's opinion.

"Actually, I was wondering, do you have any copies of The Thief and the Butcher?" Emerald asked, smiling politely.

"Yes, in fact we do."

Is it possible that they're just shopping? Were Jaune's suspicions groundless after all?

**"**That's great." Emerald said, clapping her hands together.

**"**Would you... like a copy?" Tukson tried, possibly going to grab the book in question.

**"**No, just wondering." Emerald responds as Mercury slammed another book, even louder than the first one. "Oh, oh! What about Violet's Garden? In paperback?"

**"**He's got it. Hardback too." Mercury answered for him as he produced the book.

**"**Ooh, decisions, decisions."

Mercury looked inside the book. "Eh, no pictures." He again slams the book shut and threw it on the ground. "Hey! Do you have any comics?"

"Near the front."

"What is he, a kid." Weiss says. "What kind of person looks for comics in a book store."

**"**Oh, no, wait!" Emerald speaks up. "What... about... Third Crusade?"

What.

Tukson hesitates, visibly unnerved. "Um... I..." Mercury and Emerald seem to be eyeing him carefully.

"...don't believe we carry that one." Tukson finishes his sentence.

Mercury loudly slams another book shut. "Oh."

"What was this place called again?" Emerald asked, hands clasped behind her back.

"Tukson's Book Trade." Tukson replies.

"And you're Tukson?" Emerald clarifies.

**"**That's right."

Blake found her breathing heavier as her body tensed up. Something was about to happen.

"So then I take it that you're the one that came up with the catchphrase?" Emerald asks.

"Yes."

"And, what was it again?" Mercury chimed in.

Tukson sighed before responding, "Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun."

"Except the Third Crusade." Mercury pointed out.

"It's just a slogan." Tukson defended.

"It's false advertising is what it is!" Mercury shouts.

**"**You shouldn't make a promise you can't keep, Tukson." Emerald says in a calm, eerie voice. Mercury pushed a switch near the entrance causing a front window to darken. But he neglected to lock the doors.

**"**I hear that you're planning on leaving. Moving all the way to Vacuo." Emerald continued as Mercury was securing the windows. "Your brothers in the White Fang won't be happy to hear that." Emerald said as Mercury darkened the last window, smiling darkly at Tukson. "And neither are we…"

The White Fang? Tukson? And he'd never said a word about it to her. Was she reporting on her whereabouts? Did Adam know where she was?

"You know who we are, don't you?" Emerald asked carefully.

"Yes." Tukson's voice dropped an octave as his anger rose.

Emerald followed up with another question. "And you know why we're here?"

"Yes."

"So... are you going to fight back?" Emerald asked as Mercury walks to stand directly behind her.

"Yes!" Tukson yelled as claws grew from his hands and he charged directly at the two, leaping from the counter aiming a strike at Emerald's head, but she sidestepped the telegraphed attack fairly easily. He tried to track her movements but was distracted when Mercury raised a leg and kicked him, forcing him back a step. Before Tukson could regain his bearings, his foot released a bullet, which pushed him back over the counter he had leapt from.

If there was ever a time to interfere, it was now. Jaune had just said to watch, to protect her identity. but she couldn't stand by and watch a fellow faunus get killed! When Emerald pulled out her weapons, two kamas that mecha shifted from a couple of pistols.

Before she could use those on the unsuspecting Tukson, who was doing his best to fend off Mercury's feet of fury, she pulled out Gambol Shroud and went on the offensive. She knew she wouldn't be able to cause too much damage as Emerald was already hyped up and her aura reflected that, but she could do something.

Wait maybe she didn't have to compromise her cover…

Using the ribbon function of Gambol Shroud, she quickly wrapped it around one of her kama, and yanked it out of her grasp, alerting both of them to her presence. She hopped down from the shelf she was on before they could see her. And on her landing, she caught the kama and in one fluid motion she turned and flung the kama directly into the window with all the force she could muster, which thanks to the training that Jaune put the team through on a DAILY basis, was a lot.

The window shattered and light poured in. Light meant people, which meant witnesses. Especially with something as random as a window shattering from the inside. And with her weapon out there laid bare, there was no way that they wouldn't leave. Just to be safe she shifted her weapon into it's gun form and shot out two more windows, shattering them as well. Now with three windows shattered, they would have to leave rather than trying to find her.

They just had to.

"Who the-"Mercury yelled as Emerald quickly grabbed him, stopping him from attacking Tukson, or trying to find Blake.

"That doesn't matter! We have to leave now!" She said, suddenly frantic, as even now she could see people peering into the broken window. "She concentrated, and suddenly those people outside walked away, like they were under a spell or something. While she was focused on something else, and Mercury was looking at her, Blake quickly found another shelf to hide on, one in a different section of the store.

"Just cast an illusion and call it day. I'll make it quick." He said, sneering at Tukson who was warily eying the two from behind the counter.

"There's too many people! Anyone could just walk by and see! And if we mess this up, Cinder will kill us!"

"Might be a bit late for that, but you have a point." He then turned to Tukson. "Later, Tukson, we'll continue this at a later junction!"

With their piece said, they left, and Blake with them. She would have said something to Tukson, but she was still shocked with the fact that he was in the White Fang at all and he'd never said anything. Besides she had done enough. He was alive.

"Whoever that was…thank you." Tukson whispered as she stayed in her hidden spot. There was a chance that they would be outside, waiting to see if anyone emerged from the store, so she would have to wait.

She had a lot of information to give Jaune at least. And as far as waiting it out goes…there were worst places to be stuck than a bookstore.

* * *

"Whatcha doing?" Yang asked.

"I'm writing notes on possible team attacks and combinations." Jaune said, closing his book. "And wondering what's taking Blake so long with…something I asked her to do." Jaune said, being purposely vague, aware of the audience that they had.

"Sorry I asked," Yang groaned, before catching a couple of grapes that had come flying at her from across the table with her mouth. "That's lame." She informed him, mouth still full of grape.

"And that's disgusting."

From the other side of the table, Nora giggled as she tossed more grapes at Yang with her spoon, Yang catching all of them with ease, giving Nora a thumbs up. Despite Jaune's best efforts, or knowing Yang, because of them, Jaune couldn't quite shake Weiss's team.

Suddenly Ruby came forward with an enormous binder that she slammed onto the table, throwing everyone off. It landed with a meaty thud, with the words, 'Best Day Ever Activities,' written smack dab in the middle.

She cleared her throat as she gesture to everyone at the table.

"Sister…friends…Weiss."

Weiss glared at the girl even as Jaune had a small chuckle at that. Her goal of making Jaune smile achieved, Ruby continued.

**"**Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream."

**"**This ought to be good." Yang said, right before she caught another grape in her mouth.

**"**A dream that one day, the four of us will come together, as a team, and have the most fun anyone has ever had... ever!" Ruby says.

"You know Blake's not here right?"

"I'm talking about kicking the semester off with a bang!" Ruby said, ignoring Jaune's factual statement.

Yang chooses to take this opportunity to make a joke. "I always kick my semesters off with a Yang! Eh? Guys? Am I right?"

An apple is tossed at Yang and hits her in the face. "Boooooooooooooooo!" Nora yells from across the table. Yang glared at her.

**"**Look guys, it's been a good two weeks and between more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year, our second semester is going to be great!" Ruby tells her team "But, classes start back up tomorrow! Which is why I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today."

Yang, still glaring in Nora's direction, picks up an apple and tosses it at avoided it skillfully, grinning as it sailed across the room and hit someone else.

Weiss stood up, dusting her skirt off. "This has nothing to do with us, so we shall sit this out. And Arc, don't think that I've forgotten about our duel!" She declared.

Before Jaune could respond, a pie flew from across the room and hit her in the face.

Jaune blinked.

Ruby blinked.

Yang burst out laughing.

Ren put his head in his palms.

Nora also started laughing.

Pyrrha covered her mouth with her hands, possibly hiding a smile.

The pie slowly slid off of her face, revealing the angriest face that Jaune had ever seen from the girl. At some point in the tense silence Blake slipped in but no one aside from Team JRBY noticed, giving her a nod.

Weiss stood there for a second, before she grabbed her own tray of food, she tossed it up in the air before a glyph appeared over the food, slowing it's descent. Another glyph appeared on her person as she spun around in a circle, almost reminiscent of a ballerina.

Jaune sighed, pulling his team away for cover as he realized what she was about to do.

Weiss was so dramatic. She had good form, he could give her that at least. As soon as the food was level with her foot, she lashed out, kicking everything her tray had to offer, the tray included, as they flew out in various directions at breakneck speed.

"Food Fight!" Someone yelled as everyone began to move, some doing their best to avoid the mess that someone had started.

Not everyone was of that particular opinion however.

"Ahahahaha!" Nora laughed maniacally from the top of a makeshift fort made out of tables. The rest of her team was standing around it on various levels, aside from Weiss. She was nowhere to be found, which Jaune found slightly unsettling.

"I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" She crowed.

Ruby stomped her foot on a table and pointed at the fort. "Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful!" She stooped down to pick up a carton of milk, crushing it in her hand. "It will be delicious!" She raised her fist in a battle cry.

"Yeah!" Yang echoed, as Blake whispered to Jaune, "Are we really doing this?"

"I guess it's part of Ruby's 'best day ever' so…looks like it." He responded. "I'll fill you in later," He said at her curious look. She nodded and they both released cheers of their own.

"Off with their heads!" Nora declared as she jumped down from the top of her tower, and the fight started in earnest.

Ren jumped the side of a tray holding watermelons, launching them in the air, he then kicked them in the direction of the opposing team. Pyrrha launched her own watermelons in addition while Nora flipped a table stacked with the fruit, causing a barrage of watermelons to head directly for team JRBY.

"Why do we have so many watermelons?" Jaune wondered aloud even as his team armed themselves appropriately.

Yang rolled over to the turkeys and stuck her fists inside them, then started to block and deflect the melons as they sped towards her. Blake was at her side in a moment, attacking the projectiles with some loaves of bread that she used as swords. Yang then launched her turkey gloves at the group, forcing them to scatter. Each member of team JRBY then separated, going for a different member of team WPNR.

* * *

Blake chose to target Pyrrha at this point, leaping at her with her loaves, going for a direct attack. Pyrrha was armed similarly to Blake, but she was caught off guard when instead of one Blake charging at her, there were three.

She made a decision to jab at the one in middle, but that was a mistake as that one vanished. Blake punished her mistake immediately by slamming her left loaf into the girl's side, which was followed immediately by the right.

Pyrrha immediately tried to counter, but Blake who was used to sparring with Ruby at this point was used to watching for tells from opponents faster than Pyrrha was. She lashed out with her loaf and Blake ducked under it, holding her own loafs like a bat as she swung upwards, nailing Pyrrha in the chin.

She wasn't the champion for nothing however, as soon as Blake's loaves touched her chin, she lashed out with her feet, catching Blake off guard who received Pyrrha's feet to her chest for her trouble. She recovered herself quickly, tossing one of the loaves aside as she felt better one handed, as Pyrrha landed and reassessed her.

Blake smiled slightly. And then resumed her charge. Three Blakes charged at Pyrrha once again, and Pyrrha made the choice to leap backwards and throw some baguettes at her rather than play which Blake was Blake. The baguettes passed through one of the Blakes effortlessly, but two of the Blakes reached her.

She tried the left one, which blocked her, but was then surprised that the other one actually struck her as well. She shot a look at Blake, questioningly, but it was ignored. Her clones were solid enough to make attacks if she so chose. She just usually chose not to.

She picked up some links of sausages that she would use as a whip. She used this sausage whip to lash out at Pyrrha and grab the loaves that she was preparing to throw at Blake. She tugged them, causing her to stumble a bit, before righting herself, but that still allowed Blake to close the distance and leap at her, tackling her and causing them to fall into a stack of tables. Well, Pyrrha and a clone of Blake anyway.

Looks like Jaune was right as her clones being a viable attack strategy…

* * *

Ruby dashed forwards, charging straight at Nora, riding her tray across the table. She leapt up, with her tray held under her feet like a skateboard and bashed the watermelon Nora tossed right back at her. She saw another one coming and immediately vanished into three separate streams of flower petals. All of them torpedoed straight at Nora.

Nora looked at the three streams wondering which one would be the one attacking her. She eventually decided on the middle one and prepared herself. Her choice was the correct one as all three converged in the middle and Ruby reappeared, slamming her tray down on the forearm that Nora used to block.

She was surprised to find that the blow from Ruby actually stung a little! Nora tried to punch the little usurper, but she simply scattered into petals again before she made contact.

That was annoying. Nora leapt onto a table and using that as a base, she jumped upward to grab a pole that was hanging from the ceiling. As gravity began to make itself heard, she stabbed her pole into a watermelon, creating herself a makeshift hammer. She quickly swung her newly made hammer at Ruby, who had rematerialized in order to hit her with the tray again.

Ruby quickly switched from attacking to blocking, using her tray as a makeshift shield to take Nora's hit. The one hit Nora gave Ruby sent her flying across the battlefield, until she decided to use that momentum and strike back, once again turning into flowers.

Nora groaned when she saw that. "That's not fair! As Queen of the Castle, I demand that you stop that!"

"You're not Queen of my castle! I AM! Ruby yelled as she barreled back into Nora.

* * *

Yang reclaimed her turkey fists and decided to take over the team WPNR fort. Her path to the fort was blocked by Ren however, who was armed with leaks. He responded to her kick with a block, and his counterattack was dodged rather than blocked.

They quickly began to exchange a flurry of blows. Ren was thrown off a little by the weight of his leeks, but Yang was also a little discombobulated over the weight and size of her turkey fists compared to her gloves. But the fight went on, until Ren miscalculated, throwing everything that he had at a horizontal slash, probably aimed at Yang's stomach.

Yang would never know where it was aimed for, because she had ducked, letting the swing pass over her, responding with a uppercut that launched Ren into the air, and then slamming him back down with an overhead punch.

Before she could celebrate her victory however, Nora was there, using her watermelon hammer to launch Yang herself into the air, where she crashed through the roof, and was nowhere to be found.

"Yang!" Ruby cried, falling to her knees dramatically. "My sister! Why?!"

"There there." Jaune patted her on the back as she sobbed dramatically. "We will avenge her." Jaune said, holding a baguette in one hand awkwardly, using the other to patt Ruby's shoulder.

"We can-"

Jaune was interrupted by a swordfish in his face. He looked beyond the swordfish to see Weiss there, staring at him. Intently.

"Arc. We end this now."

Jaune stared at her as Ruby looked between the two. "I'm gonna go…help Blake. Yeah that's it! Good luck fearless leader!" Ruby called out as she dashed away.

The coward.

Then again, Jaune amended as he saw Pyrrha flinging soda cans at Blake using her semblance, maybe it was necessary.

"Alright then," Jaune acceded to the girl, picking up a tray and holding it loosely in his other hand. "Show me your best Schnee."

* * *

Despite the fact that Pyrrha had a veritable sandstorm of soda cans attacking her, Blake wasn't too worried. She could see Ruby heading her way, and trapped in the storm as she was, that guaranteed that Nora couldn't do much either. Indeed, she was off to the side, tossing watermelons and soda cans in that were fairly easy to avoid.

She saw Ruby give her a warning look and prepared herself. Ruby crouched down and once again prepared to use her semblance. She quickly bounced around the room, picking up speed and momentum. And various food stuffs along the way. As she gathered more and more food, she quickly reached the sandstorm that Blake was trapped in. She quickly grabbed the girl and continued moving, adding Pyrrha's cans to the already numerous items she had following her.

The wind that she had generated was so forceful that it launched Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora into the wall behind them as Ruby and Blake came to a sudden stop and leapt out of the way of the incoming food avalanche.

Soda and food covered the losing team as they were still pressed against the wall with no way to dodge. After a moment, they slid off the wall, leaving only their outlines, a pattern of the food that they were hit with.

**"**I love these guys." Sun comments from the cafeteria front door, having watched the entire thing. His friend Neptune standing next to him had different opinion, having been hit by the food hurricane that Ruby had summoned.

* * *

Jaune eyed Weiss seriously as he considered what her first move would be. This wasn't like facing Cardin. Weiss could be a legitimate threat if he let her.

Which he wouldn't.

Because Jaune was looking at Weiss and not looking down he didn't notice the glyph appearing under him. He did notice the effects however, as the gravity suddenly became overbearing in the spot he was standing in, almost forcing him to his knees.

As soon as Weiss saw him stumble, she charged at him, intent on taking the advantage. Jaune was having none of that however, boosting his aura so that he could withstand it and rushing forward to meet her.

Weiss's fish was deflected by Jaune's tray. He was originally going to try to block it entirely, but he could see that she had frozen her fish which increased it's durability and piercing power. If she wanted to play that way then so would he, he thought, pushing his aura into his tray and baguette.

She eyed the glowing items in his hand curiously but said nothing. Without warning she suddenly lunged at Jaune with her fish extended, leaving no time to deflect, forcing him to block. He didn't take any damage from it, but it did force him to lose sight of Weiss for a moment which gave her time to spin out of view and lash out with a kick.

Jaune deflected her kick with his baguette, or rather he tried to. Before his baguette met her foot, it was met with a small spinning glyph that took the blow, and then repelled it. Jaune rolled with the force back, using it to avoid Weiss's kick entirely and stepped backward.

She was trickier to fight then he had thought she would. He had to negate her glyphs, and he knew just the right way to do it.

'Amp five percent.' Jaune thought as he felt his aura course throughout his body, relishing in the feeling. He shot at Weiss at a faster speed than he had used so far, catching her off guard. He feinted like he was going to jab at her with his baguette, and when she made to avoid that particular motion, he smacked her in the side with his tray.

Stunning her with the blow, he punched her with his free hand. Weiss having seen the punch coming, leapt backwards to lessen the impact. What she didn't notice, was the white of Jaune's aura leaving his fist and entering her own body.

With his piece done, Jaune picked up his baguette and reengaged in battle with the girl. With all the movement going on, her fish would bound to defrost soon, especially considering all the blocks that Jaune would use, rather than deflect, to chip at the ice.

With his aura boosting her own, the next time she used a glyph, she would overshoot, making her vulnerable. And that was when Jaune would make his move.

Jaune continued to trade blows with Weiss, blocking rather than deflecting like he preferred, until he noticed her fish looking a little wilted. Weiss seemingly noticed this as well, as she tried to leap back and gain some distance.

Not that Jaune was willing to let her. As he kept his offensive going, with her narrowly dodging each strike or choosing whether to be hit by the baguette or the tray when she couldn't. Jaune could tell the moment that she lost her temper.

The second she did, her fish basically exploded in ice midswing. The ice even encapsulated her arm, surprising her. Jaune took this moment to dodge the sloppy swing and place his baguette at her neck.

"Looks like it's my win then?" Jaune asked.

Before Weiss could answer, the doors to the cafeteria opened, and Glynda Goodwitch entered the room growling. She then used her own semblance to fix and organize the room. She even removed al the food stains from team WPNR, which impressed Jaune. Weiss said nothing but Jaune could see her pout as Gynda defrosted the ice on her arm.

"Children, please," She said as she adjusted her glasses. "Do not play with your food!"

Nora burped aloud as both of the teams quickly tried to blame the other for the fight. Before Glynda could decide on a punishment, a screaming Yang crashed down onto one of the tables, causing everyone but Glynda to laugh.

She grumbled at that, but headmaster Ozpin approached and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let it go."

Glynda sighed. "They're supposed to be the defenders of the world."

Jaune, who had never let down his earlier amplification, heard this.

**"**And they will be, but right now they're still children." Ozpin reminded Glynda, motioning to the two teams. "So why not let them play the part?" Ozpin then walked away from Glynda and towards the cafeteria doors. "After all, it isn't a role they'll have forever."

What did he mean by that? Did he mean that as huntsman and huntresses or something more? Jaune really needed to get with his team and go over what Blake had learned.

Something was about to happen. He could feel it.

* * *

**And Tukson survives! Or does he? I dunno maybe he'll get to Vacuo like he wants. Not before team JRBY gets a hold of him though...**

**I've seen and researched that Blake's clones do have substance to them, as she can leap off of them, which means that they could also give one attack. Blake can choose whether they're substantial or not so she's pretty dangerous. Pyrrha wouldn't be so flat footed in a battle like that normally, but Blake didn't have any metal on so she couldn't use that to determine which one was real. She'd do better in bladed battle.**

**Yang's style didn't really change much, so I pretty much left it as is. She's more focused on evasion rather than tanking blows now, but that hasn't really come up as of yet. I'm thinking of having her play with the fire that her semblance released, sort of like how Tsuna from Reborn uses his gauntlets to fly? I think that would be neat. And she already uses her gauntlets like that on occasion so it would work out! We'll see. It would be cool if I could work it in organically.**

**Ruby and Nora was a mismatch if there ever was one. Ruby's too fast to hit and she can predict Nora enough to dodge…only without weapons she has nothing to that can put her down. She's getting faster at turning into petals though, which will never be a bad thing.**

**And Jaune and Weiss…having your aura boosted in a battle would be catastrophic if you weren't expecting it. Doubly so if you rely on your semblance and it's something delicate like glyphs. All in all, a victory for Team JRBY! More or less.**

**That's all my thoughts for now. See ya later and thanks for reading**


	7. Chapter 7

"So, Emerald, Mercury. And Cinder. Every single one of them bears watching. That's very good to know." Jaune said, to his team as they hung out in what was commonly known as their hides hole. "You probably shouldn't follow them anymore…"

Blake opened her mouth to disagree but Jaune cut her off. "Not alone anyway. I'm going to have ask you to take Ruby with you from now on. She's quick on her feet and I don't want either of you to be in a situation where you could be alone with them. Especially when they know that they were being watched. Their guards are bound to be up now"

Yang stood up at this point, pointing at herself. "So that means that you and me are together then? What will we be doing?"

Jaune hummed as he plotted their next move. "We need to go question Tukson ASAP before he goes to ground. Blake followed him to his bolt hole, so we'll go there tomorrow. Since he wants out, and has already been attacked, he should tell us what we want."

"And if he doesn't?" Ruby had to ask.

"I don't see why he wouldn't but we should be able to persuade him one way or another."

* * *

Blake led them into the heart of the commercial district, navigating through alleys and cutting through streets on occasions. Tukson has really chosen his bolt hole well.

Jaune was impressed. They would be sure to make use of it after he fled.

"Let me go in front" Jaune told his team as he expanded his shield. After the day that the Faunus had yesterday, he was bound to attack first, question later.

His thoughts were proven correct when he kicked open the door, shield raised high, and he felt something impact it. He held his ground though and just barely managed to remain standing.

The man was heavy.

"It's okay! We're not here to fight! We saved you yesterday!" Ruby sped in front of the man, waving her hands around before he could strike again.

He stopped, staring at them, looking over all of them, his eyes widening when they landed on Blake. "That was you…?" He breathed.

"Well, it was her," Jaune admitted, nodding at Blake, but it was a team effort more or less. "My name is Jaune, how would you like to chat...Tukson was it?" He reached out his hand for the man to shake. "I believe you have some information that could be quite useful to us."

He eyed Jaune's hand warily, before grasping it firmly. "What do you want to know?" He eventually asked wearily.

"Tell me everything that you know about Mercury, Emerald, and Cinder."

"I thought that's what this was about…" he looked down, before looking back at team JRBY. "It's not much, but make yourselves at home. We might be here a while."

As far as bolt holes went, this one wasn't too bad, if Jaune had to describe it, he would have described it as a thread bare apartment. There was a kitchen, and a couch...and that was pretty much it. He nonetheless sat down on the couch, with Ruby plopping down beside him, while Yang did the same with her. Blake chose to sit on the arm of the couch, rather than sitting down next to Yang, who gave her a small grin and a wink, patting the cushion next to her.

Her offer was ignored and Blake remained on the seat.

"Like Blake, here," He said with a nod to Blake, "I was a member of the White Fang, and I proudly stood for everything that we believed in! Unlike some people I could mention," He said, again with a meaningful glance at Blake, who flinched slightly.

"Keep it moving, Tukson. We're not here to discuss that." Jaune interrupted before it get too heated. Shrugging it off, he continued.

"I was a proud member of the White Fang, until our sect started working with _humans_," He said, spitting out the word like humans were distasteful, and to Tukson, Jaune supposed it was.

"And not just any humans either! Roman Torchwick, and his ilk!" He spat on the ground as he said this.

"Wait, Emerald and Mercury are working with Torchwick?" Yang burst out at that, her fists clenched, memories of their last encounter running through her mind.

"That means that lady's probably with them as well…" Ruby added, looking down at her knees.

Tukson scoffed, drawing all of them out of their thoughts. "Working with? They're all working FOR Cinder. The minute that they brought them in, I decided that I needed to get out. I refuse to work with humans, that's against everything we stood for!"

They all work for Cinder? Even Torchwick? That didn't bode well for their chances if they had to fight her directly. Maybe they'd have to catch her off guard, or attack her when she was sleeping…

Wait, when did Jaune immediately decide that she needed to be gotten rid of? Could they even get rid of her? This might be above his pay grade. He might need to go to someone higher...but who?

"And yet, you didn't mind selling to humans or taking their money? Mind running me through how that works?" Yang interrupted his thoughts, by asking Tukson.

His demeanor became defensive as he defended his statement. "I have no problem taking money from you, but I have no desire to work with you in any way shape or form. You understand I'm sure."

Ozpin?

"No, I don't, enlighten me. You're over there on your high horse, trying to act like you're the noble white fang member, which is a terrorist group by the way, and you're looking down on Blake and us AFTER we saved your life! Talk about ungrateful."

No, too secretive. And Jaune wasn't sure what he might ask for in exchange from the enigmatic man. He'd have to think on it.

"You dare? You DARE?!"

A smile curled on his lips. That could work. They needed more information though. Did Tukson know anything that Blake didn't?

"That's enough guys. Arguing like this will get us nowhere. And even worse, the longer we stand here arguing, the greater your chances of getting caught would be correct?" Jaune directed at the Faunus, who swallowed whatever reply he was about to give and nodded.

"And you obviously can't take care of yourself in case you get attacked again, so we'll escort you. There's somewhere that you want to go?"

"We'll do what now?" Yang asked, turning to look at him wide eyed. Across the room, Tukson was giving him a similar shocked expression.

He shrugged at their expressions and explained himself. "We have a break coming up before the Vytal festival, so school won't interfere. And if we leave him to his own devices, he'll just get attacked again."

Plus he might have more information for them, went unsaid throughout the room.

"That is...if you don't mind having the help of some _humans_," Jaune said, using the same emphasis that Tukson did on the word.

"We help you get to where you're going, and you tell us everything you know. Deal?"

"But it's vacation time!"

"But the best vacation ever!"

Tukson looked from the pouting Ruby, to the sulking Yang, to the defensive Blake and back to Jaune.

"What do I have to lose? You have a deal."

* * *

Tukson's original plan had been to go to Vacuo, but he was worried that his plan was compromised, so he changed his mind and wanted to go to Atlas. He said that the continent of Solitas would be much easier to get lost in, as the White Fang had a very small sect in that location.

Jaune thought that wishful thinking on his part, due to how Atlas was KNOWN to treat the faunus, but he said nothing and let it slide. Maybe Tukson had a specific reason for wanting to go to Atlas.

Tukson had arranged for them to travel from Vale to one of the outermost port cities of Igneous, and from there they all would travel there by foot.

All in all, it would take about two to three weeks, not accounting for any errors or attacks from outside forces.

Jaune really hoped there would be attacks from outside forces. Just...not while they were on the ship.

"I didn't think there was anything that you couldn't handle Mr. Leader," Yang's teasing voice came from behind Jaune as small circles were rubbed into his back. "Can't handle your boat rides huh?"

"Not even a little. Airships I can do, carriages and trains, yes. God, why did it have to be a boat?"

Yang laughed, not even the slightest bit sympathetic, although she did continue to rub circles in his back, which was nice.

"So, Ruby tells me that you stare off into space on occasions with a pretty sad look on your face,"

Yang began, and despite her ministrations, Jaune tensed. She never stopped though, nor did she try to make Jaune look at her or explain himself.

"And you're fairly restless, I don't think I've ever seen you sleep. You go to bed after all of us and are always the first one up What I guess I'm trying to say is...are you alright?"

There was a long pause.

"No...I'm not." He didn't even see the point in trying to lie. Not that he could think of one anyway. Besides, he's already told Blake, what was the harm in telling Yang?

"You know how you came to Beacon for adventure? And to find your mother?"

At her hum of acknowledgment , he continued. It was easier telling her this without actually facing her.

"I came for vengeance."

Short, sweet and to the point.

There was a brief pause, before she spoke.

"Who?"

There was no condemnation in her voice, no disgust. Jaune hurried to get out what he wanted to say before he put it there.

"I don't know his name. But he came to my home town one day and killed everyone. My friends...my family…everyone."

"But not you."

"Not me,". Jaune agreed. "He actually awakened my aura."

"And you've been searching for him ever since." Yang said. It wasn't a question.

"The more saw, the more I upset I became. Faunus being oppressed. PEOPLE being oppressed. The strong tormenting the weak. Because they can." He scoffed. "Sickening."

"Make no mistake Yang, what I told you wasn't a lie. I really do want to make the world a better place. But not until that man dies knowing what he did to me was a mistake. I won't rest, until I get that. My family demands nothing less."

Yang's hand disappeared and Jaune thought that he had scared her off. He should have known better. How could he salvage-

Jaune felt two arms snake around his waist, and something that he suspected was her chin landed on his back.

She was hugging him.

"I get that Jaune, I really do. But I also want you to realize that slowing down isn't the same as stopping. It's a necessity."

Jaune opened his mouth to argue that, but she cut him off. "It's a necessity! You're getting stronger Jaune, we all are! But you know what would help you even more? Relaxing."

"I-"

"Your aura is your mind, body and spirit! Emphasis on mind and spirit here! You're not at your best if you're overworked and stressed."

"But what if he comes back before I'm ready?!" Jaune bit out, refusing to be interrupted again. "What if I drop my guard, relax and then he comes and kills you all! I can't lose everyone again Yang...I can't."

"Revenge isn't worth much when you're dead Jaune. But I can talk to my uncle, see if he knows anything about who you seek. Although, he hasn't been any help with finding Raven so..."

Jaune wasn't sure how he should respond to that, or even if he should respond to it, and so he said nothing. There was some merit to what Yang had said however so he would think it over.

* * *

Two horrible days later and they were finally on Ignacious.

"Are you going to kiss the ground like they do in the movies? I can walk you through the motions if you'd like?"

Jaune ignored Yang's attempts at jokes as he practically fled off of the boat. He even beat Ruby off the boat, which was no small feat considering her base speed.

He did his best to pretend that his team was giggling at something else. Maybe someone tripped over in the distance.

"If we're done playing around, we need to make haste". Tukson interrupted, stepping off of the boat, with not a trace of seasickness on him.

Not for the first time, Jaune cursed the man internally.

Rather than admit that, he simply straightened his jacket and addressed the man. "So where are we-"

Jaune's sentence was interrupted when he felt Ruby tackle him down as a bullet wizzed by his head.

He rolled with the tackle and hopped back on his feet, Ruby in his arms. She nodded at him and he let her go, where she proceeded to scatter and rise up, looking for a higher vantage point.

"Why are we being attacked? We just freaking got here!" Yang asked as she armed herself and quickly found herself being swarmed by several people in uniforms that Jaune didn't recognize.

He would have studied them more, but he had his own enemies to tend to. Jaune's sword slid out of his sheath but he didn't have time to expand his shield before his foes reached him.

They weren't trained, that much was obvious. Their motions were telegraphed, and easy to read. What made them so difficult to fight was the sheer number of them.

The enemies just kept pouring out of nowhere, and team JRBY and Tukson found themselves being pushed back.

"They're herding us somewhere! Be on your guard everyone!"

At least they weren't being shot at anymore, thanks to Ruby. "Hey, guys!" She yelled, awe clear in her voice, "Be careful! There's!"

And then suddenly a whip wrapped around Yang's arm and yanked her backwards, throwing her balance, leaving her open to another attack. Or it would have if Jaune hadn't blocked it with his shield now fully expanded into its light dust form.

Blake turned in the direction the whip had come from, and stammered, "That's-"

Jaune risked a look, and could see why Blake was so surprised. Standing behind them was a Faunus. A female bengal tiger based one with orange eyes, dark brown skin, and wild black hair that spiked out. She had an extra pair of ears on her head similar to Blake, and her body was adorned with numerous tattoos resembling tiger stripes.

Or maybe they were actual stripes. She wore four golden earrings on all four of her ears and had a small jewel on her forehead.

She was wearing a form fitting black dress with light green accents on the rims of the outfit. Over the dress, she wore a red cape with gold accents, as well as a waist green cinched with red rims. On her legs she wore black stockings with green sandals. She wore a fingerless black glove on only one hand. "That was just a warning shot," She grinned at them, and it was all teeth. "Trust me, the next time we go at it, we won't pull any punches."

"Sienna...Khan?" Jaune asked, just as confused as Blake was. "High leader of the White Fang? What are you doing in Atlas?"

"This is the White Fang?" Yang asked, as she looked closer at the uniforms, now that they had stopped attacking them.

And now that Jaune studied them himself, he could see that these clearly weren't White Fang members. But Sienna Khan was here.

"Blake? Oh and Tukson too? I'd heard that you both have left the White Fang. If it's not too much trouble...maybe you'd like to join my group? I'll even accept your human friends, on a trial basis. We're not too picky at the moment."

"What-what is this?"

Jaune wasn't sure if that was Tukson, Blake or himself asking that. Maybe it was all three.

"This?" She said, gesturing to all of the men and women that were picking themselves up. Jaune and the others hadn't used to much force, as they didn't want to cause too much damage. "Oh, I'm sorry, where are my manners? I'm Sienna Khan, founder and high leader of the Black Hand."

"What."

Now Jaune knew that was him talking. Sienna sneered at him. "What? You think Blake and Tukson are the the only people that can leave! Me and my...former associates had a...difference of opinion you could say. And now here we are. Now are we going to discuss this like the rational adults we are, or does this need to get ugly?"

Yang suddenly groaned, catching all of their attention. "I hate you Jaune, this is the worst vacation ever!"

Jaune couldn't bring himself to disagree.


	8. Chapter 8

The closer they drew to the town, the harder it was to ignore the rustling whispers in his head. Sometimes Jaune could swear they were real, the dim shapes of words just beyond understanding. Other times, the voices dwindled to the rush of the wind.

_Tell them now_

But what was there to tell? It might be nothing. It might be an auditory hallucination, or something like that.

Or it might be the dead, egging him on, like always.

The town itself was located in the shadow of a low mountain range, beneath the hulking shape of what had once been a fort and then a munitions factory lodged into the Cliffside high above it.

It didn't take long to realize that the old factory had been recommissioned for something new-the traffic of men going in and out of the facility made that clear.

But for what?

There were no proper inns, only a public house with two guests rooms that were full. The owner told them that the convent up the hill sometimes boarded lodgers.

"Ladies at the convent there take in washings for the soldiers," he said. "They don't mind having a few extra hands around for chores."

"Must be busy these days with that factory running,". Yang replied. "Good for business."

The owner shook his head. "Soldiers came in about a year ago. Didn't hire any locals, poured their filth into the river."

"You don't know that," a heavyset woman interjected. "The river was full of runoff from the mines before the soldiers started up the smokestacks again." She cut a long glance at Blake and the others. "Don't pay to speak trouble to strangers."

They took the hint and headed out to the Main Street. It was a surprisingly pretty town, the buildings small and snug, their roofs peaked.

Ruby gazed up the mountain to where the old factory looked, it's big square buildings loaded with dark windows. "They could just be manufacturing rifles or ammunition."

Blake's expression was blanker than normal. "Or some of those Atlesian Paladins they're becoming so fond of."

"If that's the case, we'll have some intelligence to pass on to Sienna,". Jaune said. He hoped that wouldn't be all.

Team JRBY headed up the side of the mountain, setting a leisurely pace and making a show of chatting loudly. They paralleled the road that led to the factory, but they took the time to point out birds and stop at vistas overlooking the valley.

Four tourists out for a walk and nothing more.

Eventually they picked their way to a gap in the trees that overlooked the entrance to the factory. At the sight of it, the rustling of voices rose in his mind, louder than the wind shaking the pines. Two soldiers were posted at the huge double doors, and there were more stationed along the parapets.

"It was a fort before a factory," Jaune said, pointing to what looked like old niches carved into stone walls. A large reservoir sat behind the main building, and he wondered if the water was used for cooling whatever machinery was inside.

"It's a good vantage point,". Blake added. "High ground. A safe place to shelter in an attack,"

Two smokestacks belched gray smoke as they watched a covered wagon roll up to the gate. It was impossible to tell what passed between the guard and the driver.

"What do you think is in that wagon?"

"Could be anything," Yang said. "Dust from the mines. Fish. Ore from the mines."

Jaune ran his hands over his arms and glanced at the smokestacks. "I think I want a look inside that fort, but I'll settle for knowing what the hell they leaked into the water."

"It could be from the mines," Ruby guessed.

"If it were the mines, the fishermen would have rioted to have them shut down. Fear is keeping the townspeople quiet."

"Let's draw samples of the water,". Blake suggested.

"Can we even do anything with that?"

"Not exactly, but maybe Sienna has someone that can."

That was a good point. If it was something that they could bring back, then it was something that they would.

"How are we getting in?" Yang was the first to ask, after they found themselves meandering far closer to the factory entrance, before they could be called out for being too close.

Jaune mused to himself, before nodding slightly. "They're expecting us to cause trouble, so that's what we're going to do. Yang and I will cause a ruckus, while Ruby and Blake will sneak in and see what's going on. If possible, we'll catch up with you guys in the factory, and if not, we'll meet back at the village at noon."

Receiving nods at his instructions, he added a caveat, "Do not overestimate yourselves. We don't know what we're heading into, and we're also not going in as a team. Be careful and don't do anything that I wouldn't do."

"That leaves us a wide range of options you know?" Blake couldn't resist adding drily before her and Ruby split from Yang and Jaune, taking to the trees as they continued to walk to the fort's entrance.

Yang whistled at the height of the fort, impressed at the height of the building. Or doing a very good impersonation of being impressed at least. "Man Jay! Look at that there thing! Wander what they make in there eh?" She said, giving herself a heavy southern accent, hooking her arm through his as she spoke.

Jaune startled at the unexpected contact, but quickly smoothed his features and responded just as merrily. Or as merrily as Jaune could manage anyway. "Who can say Yin? Maybe one of these gentle folk can answer a couple of questions for us?"

"Halt! This is a restricted area! Leave now!" The first guard demanded holding up a rifle threatening at the two, who untangled their arms to hold them up as a gesture of peace and surrender.

"It is? We had no idea! Them town folk didn't tell us anything about it being restricted! Are you sure?"

Jaune felt the urge to bang his head against his head. Yang's southern drawl was truly terrible and Jaune made a mental note to force her to take acting lessons as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

That was for later, they had to deal with the now though. "While we're here, would you mind answering some questions for us?" Jaune could try to be polite before things went pear shaped. Try the carrot before the stick.

"I said...HALT" The first guard said, now having backup in the form of several more soldiers coming out, armed with rifles of their own.

Yang let out a chuckle while assuming a boxing position while Jaune pulled out his sword, not drawing his shield for the moment.

Stick it was then.

* * *

The first thing that Ruby noticed was the factory was a lot bigger on the inside than the outside.

Like A LOT bigger. She could see the building was made of reinforced concrete, or steel encased in concrete or something similar to that. Ruby wasn't an architect, she didn't know buildings. She did know that it was very well built. It was originally a fort and she knew that changing the building like this would have been costly and difficult to make.

Especially without being noticed. What were they doing here?

"I smell blood. And a lot of it. Be on your guard Ruby." Blake warned, all traces of amusement having left her as soon as they entered the factory, drawing gambol shroud for good measure. Ruby nodded, then realized that Blake probably couldn't see her doing that, so she made a grunt of acknowledgment.

It was a long drop, a drop that neither Ruby nor Blake was confident they could make without being sure what was on the bottom, so they took the series of walkways and ladders to reach the bottom. Whatever Yang and Jaune were doing was apparently working wonders, because the factory was practically deserted.

What few guards remained inside it was child's play to avoid. Blake even used the opportunity to give Ruby some pointers on how to deaden her footsteps without losing speed or how to minimize wasted movements to ensure maximum action.

And Ruby absorbed all of it like a sponge. Every little thing that Blake showed Ruby could just as easily be worked into her normal fighting style with minimal fuss.

Hopefully. She'd have to practice with Blake and see how it worked. She was sure that she would be much harder to predict if she had less wasted movement and you couldn't hear her coming!

Wait. Focus Ruby.

"There aren't any weapons here, so they aren't building weapons…" Blake whispered as they continued to make their way down the factory. The walkways were finally widening up, enough they could walk side by side. There was a distinct lack of guards at this point, so they no longer bothered to creep down the factory.

"Yeah, I don't even see...anything being built here. Like at all." Ruby added, frowning thoughtfully. It was really weird, now that Blake mentioned the lack of...well anything here. All this place had so far were walkways and ladders.

There was no way that they would have so many guards in this place for that. They hadn't even found the source of the blood that Blake was smelling. They had to be getting close to something though. Ruby's senses weren't as good as Blake's but...she could feel something here.

Something dark.

* * *

These soldiers were strange.

That was the first thought that Jaune had as a soldier used his rifle as a club and met Jaune's blade in a deadlock. The first surprise that Jaune had was that the man's rifle hadn't been sliced by Jaune's blade, and he immediately decided that he was going to take it for his own.

The next thought that hit him was that he couldn't overpower the man. As in, Jaune couldn't overpower an auraless soldier.

Jaune twisted his grip, releasing his two hand grip on his sword in favor of a one handed grip and at the same time using his newly freed hand to grab the man's rifle and ripped the rifle from the man's grip.

He flung the man's rifle far away from him, rationalizing that it appeared to be standard grade for these soldiers and he could always take one from one of the many soldiers pouring out of the fort. Now that he thought about it, it seemed like the factory was pretty small for the amount of soldiers coming out of it.

Was it bigger on the inside?

Jaune pulled his head back and flung it full force onto the man's own forehead, knocking him out from the impact. Due to Jaune's aura, and the fact that Jaune's head was pretty hard by itself, Jaune himself didn't even have a bruise.

A bullet whizzed past his face and Jaune swung his blade in response without even looking in the direction that it had come from. So he was unexpectedly surprised when his sword met resistance in the form of...what had he hit as a matter of fact?

Jaune turned to his right and saw a spiked riot shield heading towards him. Jaune tried to hop back but found himself bumping against the body of another soldier that was taking a swing at him with what looked like a stun baton, if the sparking ends of the tip heading towards him said anything. He had a large wind up motion that gave Jaune plenty of notice of what and how he was going to swing at him, so Jaune had plenty of time to weave around the man. As Jaune weaved around the man, he expanded his shield and used it to bash the man in the back, and he dropped like a rock.

_These guys are strong, but they drop fairly easily…_ Jaune thought to himself as he raised his shield in response to the spiked riot shield being thrust towards him once again. Jaune didn't have enough leverage to avoid it at this distance, nor could he engage in a battle of strength without dropping his sword...wait yes he could.

Jaune used his semblance, enhancing his strength five fold and thrust his shield forward to meet the riot shield. Jaune's shield crumpled the man's shield, and the force of the impact forced the man backwards, where he crumpled in a heap with several other men that had the misfortune to be behind him.

_They drop ridiculously easy..._

It made Jaune even more suspicious. These soldiers were far too powerful for not having aura...and yet oddly fragile. And there were so many of them! He quickly risked a glance to Yang to see how she was faring, and felt a chuckle bubble up despite himself.

Yang appeared to be having the time of her life. Any one dumb enough to come at her with a baton would find themselves weaponless, as she would either grab the baton and stab them with it, shocking them, or she would simply grab the baton and fling the man into the crowd. And since it appeared that these soldiers couldn't take hits for the life of them, she was knocking them out faster than Jaune himself was!

Knocking these guys out was fairly easy work, if not a bit tedious.

Worst comes to worst if they found nothing at all, at least Sienna would be glad that they gathered intel on how her enemies fought, and their numbers right?

* * *

Ruby and Blake found themselves in a room that had...they weren't sure what they were looking at. The bottom of the factory led to a room that had rows of pods that were filled with...people?

Test subjects? There was a broken valve that was releasing steam that made the room uncomfortably hot and lowered the visibility. Something in the room had an eerie green glow, bathing the room in a sinister green light.

"What...is this?" Ruby found herself asking no one in particular.

Blake didn't respond, having wiped the glass on one of the pods and looked inside. A person was suspended inside the pod, with various tubes attached to his body. Blake could see...something being infused into person but she couldn't tell what it was.

"We have to find out where these tubes lead." She said.

"Tubes?" Ruby asked, coming forward to see what Blake was talking about. She gasped and covered her mouth to suppress any possible noise that she could have made, but she quickly became determined and nodded. Ruby took the left side of the room and Blake took the right and they quickly noted that not every pod had tubes connected to them, and not only that, but every tube seemed to be connected to different things!

Eventually they had managed to track down what the main tubes were connected to, and it led them to a series of chambers. Each one held a water wheel that appeared to be grinding materials and feeding the crushed materials into tubes, that would then go on and be infused into the people into the pods.

"Is that...dust?" Blake asked, confused.

Ruby stepped forward and examined the chamber. Yes, on closer inspection it was in fact dust. Red Dust, Blue Dust, Green Dust, and Yellow Dust. "Are they...infusing dust into people? Is that safe?"

"If it was safe, would they be doing it on the bottom floor of a factory, with who knows how many guards?"

Well when Blake put it like that...

"The blood must be from people that don't survive this process...or people that refuse." Ruby thought aloud.

"And the stuff poured into the river could either be blood, or the ground up dust mixed with whatever else is in the chambers." Blake finished. They traded looks before taking out their scrolls and taking pictures of every conceivable inch of the facility they were in. This had to be what Sienna was looking for.

"Should we...should we break these?" Ruby asked tentatively, once they had finished recording everything that they could.

After a moment of indecision, Blake shook her head. "No. We should meet up with Jaune and Yang at the meeting point and make sure that we leave no trace that we're here. If they did their jobs right, they'll just assume that they've been attacked, and not that they've been attacked AND infiltrated. If we do anything, it'll let them know that we've been here."

Thinking about what Blake had told her, Ruby eventually nodded. They came here to get information, and they got it. No more, no less. Leaving the people here did gall Ruby a fair amount, but there was no way of knowing if even freeing these people would do anything.

So with a heavy heart, Ruby followed Blake out of the factory. Now that they knew where they were going, and didn't really have to tiptoe their way forward, they made much better time, slipping out the factory as easily as they had entered.

Once outside, they quickly saw the pile of bodies and found themselves questioning things as they waded through the bodies. They could see the slight rising and falling of the majority of the soldiers, but that was the least of their concerns.

Were these soldiers dust infused? Was it done willingly? Unwillingly? Was this an Atlas sponsored experiment?

And the most pressing question of all.

Did infusing your body with dust actually do anything?

* * *

Jaune was leaning against a tree, arms crossed with his eyes closed when he heard Yang greet Blake and Ruby as they entered the clearing.

"You guys were quiet." Jaune told them in lieu of greeting. Ruby quickly ran to Jaune, showing off the lack of noise she made as she reached him.

"Yep." She said, popping the p as she grinned up at him. Jaune couldn't help it. He felt the corners of his mouth lift up despite his best efforts. Her self assigned mission complete, she quickly headed over to Yang, knowing that Jaune would want to talk to Blake, knowing that reporting things like this was her specialty in their team. She had some things to ask Yang anyway.

"What did you find?" Jaune asked as soon as Blake got close enough. She simply handed over her scroll, showing Jaune the pictures. Jaune swiped through the pictures, silently pouring over each one, before he got to the chambers with the dust. "What were in these?"

"Dust."

"Dust?" Jaune repeated to himself. Would infusing dust into humans do anything? People used dust all the time! It was perfectly harmless!

_Unless you didn't have aura…_ His mind whispered. And the thought made sense, the more that he thought about it. The soldiers that they had fought were strong enough to fight even with Jaune sans his semblance enhanced strength, yet fragile enough they fell to simple slashes, or even by being shot.

Strong yet fragile. The body was not made to have dust inside of it.

_The man with dust in his arms._

Jaune's eyes widened and his pulse quickened at the thought. Was this related to that man?! Was he here! Had he been here!

_No. Calm down._

Jaune forced himself to calm down as he could feel his team looking at him worriedly. He closed his eyes, handing Blake her scroll back, and counted to ten. And then to thirty when that didn't work.

"I think…this might have something to do with the man with the dust in his arms." Jaune said quietly when he had gotten his temper under control.

Blake's eyes widened, but she didn't dispute or give any input. She waited for Jaune to continue, to explain his reasoning, which he eventually did.

"I'm not sure of this, it could just be a coincidence. But maybe whoever mans that factory came into contact with him, or worked with him and was trying to create something similar…I'm not sure...it has to be..."

A stabbing pain started to build in Jaune's left eye, like a migraine only worse. He tried to blink it away, but the ache kept getting stronger. The sun faded, but the shadows remained, grew, became bloated as the world darked all around him, the way it does when dreams drift into nightmares. Only Jaune was awake.

Wasn't he?

"Jaune?" Blake tried. They'd seen Jaune like this before, but her warning had come too late, because her voice now sounded like it was coming from far away, as if she were a memory of someone he had known.

All Jaune could see was the man, his voice getting louder and louder in his ears. A grin grew on his face, becoming bigger and bigger, distorting his appearance. A fiery bolt of rage and fury shot through Jaune, enough that he stopped feeling the pain in his eye and didn't even notice that he'd clenched his hands so hard that they were bleeding-

Two hands grabbed his own and uncurled them gently, wrapping their hands around his own. The pain in his eye disappeared all at once and the dark visions assailing him faded, leaving behind the clearing they were in and the dismayed faces of his teammates.

Blake looked at Jaune with an expression that Jaune couldn't read before she asked him, "How...," Blake started to say, but then paused and said something else, which Jaune was grateful for. He knew what she was about to ask. "Were the soldiers? Did...infusing dust like that make a difference?"

Jaune didn't answer, but Yang did, eager to move the conversation forward. "They were stronger than expected. They didn't have aura, but yet their strength was still boosted by a pretty decent margin. They were also surprisingly fragile, like they had sacrificed their health and defense for strength." And then she turned to look at Jaune.

"I don't think this has anything to do with that man." Jaune opened his mouth to argue, but Yang put her hand up to stop whatever he was going to say. "I don't think that he has anything to do with this, but I still think this is something we need to get to the bottom of."

"And if it is related?" Jaune couldn't help but ask.

"Then we take care of it." Ruby said, still rubbing his hands soothingly with hers. "And if it isn't...we still take care of it."

Jaune felt the last of the tension leave his body, and squeezed Ruby's hands in thanks. She smiled at him, and released her hands. Despite himself, Jaune felt himself missing her hand in his.

Jaune quickly shook that thought out of his head. Or rather he tried to. He wasn't as successful as he would have liked.


End file.
